‘It’s a really good piece of property.’ So why’s that South Charlotte site still empty?
The Strawberry Hill shopping center in south Charlotte is booming with shops, restaurants and businesses. It’s a different story across the street.
An 11-acre site near the busy intersection of Providence and Fairview roads sits deserted after apartments were torn down there within the last decade.
That vacant lot now covers one of the more prominent pieces of undeveloped land in the area. But there’s a possibility that a developer could bring something back to the area, according to the site’s owners.
The property has an appraised value of $11.7 million, according to Mecklenburg County records. Listed property owners are Mallard Creek Associates 1 LLC; c/o Greystar Real Estate Partner; and Deloitte Tax LLP. Charlotte-based Raley Miller Properties is an affiliate of Mallard Creek Associates and handles matters related to the property.
Another developer is making plans for the site, according to David Miller, a partner at Raley Miller.
“We have other agreements in place with other parties regarding the future management and future development of that property, which will not be Raley Miller Properties, “Miller said. “It’s a really good piece of property.”
He declined to name the potential developer or provide further details about the site and its future, calling it a complicated real estate matter.
The history of that vacant lot
The property, which is in the Foxcroft neighborhood, was once known as Carmel on Providence, a 109-unit apartment complex.
The Carmel on Providence was built in 1974 and is about 6 miles away from uptown Charlotte.
Raley Miller made attempts to redevelop Carmel on Providence in along with Levine Properties in the 2010s, according to reports by The Charlotte Observer. The goal was to build a mixed-use development with hundreds of apartment units and 100,000 square feet of retail space, including a grocery store.
Charlotte’s Transportation Department said the site would have a big impact on traffic and concerns were raised about congestion through the intersection. Council members were generally supportive of the redevelopment plan, the Observer reported in 2015.
In 2016, representatives for the project spoke with community members about rezoning 10.8 acres for the project, according to a city report. Raley Miller officials said the site would be open in the summer of 2018 after demolition of the apartment complex was complete.
The city’s communication office did not respond to a request from the Observer to provide more information about the vacant property.
For now, the redevelopment project from 2016 is still listed on Raley Miller’s website as a mixed-use retail and residential project for 195 apartments; 95,000 square-feet of retail; and transportation improvements on Providence Road.
Hey, what’s that?
Curious about construction going on around the Charlotte region? Email reporter Chase Jordan with the location that you are curious about, at cjordan@charlotteobserver.com. Your suggestion may appear in a future story.
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
