New disputes emerge in Charlotte as $700M Brooklyn Village project remains in limbo
Mecklenburg County commissioners continue to have closed-session discussions regarding the fate of the $700 million mixed-use Brooklyn Village redevelopment. The latest meeting may lead to arbitration and more delays in a project that seeks to add 1,200 apartment units in Charlotte’s Second Ward, the developer said.
But developer Peebles Corp. said regardless of county discussions, the project is moving forward on its end.
Last week, Mecklenburg County commissioners decided to end negotiations with Peebles Corp., as reported by WFAE. What negotiations the county is ending is unclear. The county declined multiple requests for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
It’s the second time in three months that commissioners discussed the Brooklyn Village project in a closed session.
Don Peebles Jr., founder and CEO of The Peebles Corp., said there were two ongoing negotiations with the county: an extension for demolishing the vacant, county-owned Board of Education Building and an amendment to a master agreement allowing developers to build an affordable housing project for phase I of the project.
Peebles said the county’s independent attorney, Womble Bond Dickinson, notified Peebles Corp. in July that those negotiations were both ending. Peebles said he was unaware the development was being discussed at the meeting and did not know what happened at the session.
All this is the latest spat in a nine-year partnership draped in delays, disagreements and discord.
Regardless of what decision was discussed during the latest closed session, Peebles said Peebles Corp. owns the land within phase I of the development, which lies along E. Brooklyn Village Avenue and S. McDowell Street. And he intends to develop what was originally planned: 552 apartment units, with 56 being set aside as affordable housing units.
“We’ll proceed with luxury housing as we have the right to do,” Peebles said. “(The county) can go and tell their constituents and the residents of Charlotte why they don’t have more affordable housing.”
Brooklyn Village refresher
The squabble over the Brooklyn Village development is another mark in the neighborhood’s history that’s riddled with government interference.
Prior to the 1960s, the Brooklyn neighborhood was a flourishing Black community before it was destroyed in the name of urban renewal. Black-owned businesses and homes were bulldozed for parking lots, the long-shuttered Board of Education building, Marshall Park and Bob Walton Plaza.
In 2016, the county selected Peebles Corp., in partnership with Conformity Corp. under the name BK Partners, to redevelop the area into Brooklyn Village. The plan was for the 17 acres in Second Ward to be turned into 1,200 residential apartments, a hotel, retail and commercial space.
Nothing has sprouted from the ground since the partnership began, except all the discontent and delays.
Development delays
There’s been two major delays in the nine-year long project:
- A five-year closing process, which came to an end in 2023.
- Unfavorable market conditions cited by Peebles Corp. in August 2024 including high interest rates, lack of lending support and an oversupply of apartments.
The closing delay stems from a dispute between the county and city regarding ownership of the land. And the apartment supply issue, Peebles said, is just the way the market is currently. He said neither delay falls on his company.
Those delays pushed the development of Phase I to 2026.
Affordable housing, asbestos disputes at Brooklyn Village
In February, Peebles Corp. proposed a revamped plan for Phase I.
Instead of 552 apartment units, with 55 being listed as income-restricted, there would be 250 apartments all income-restricted for those making 30% to 80% of the area’s median income. For a family of four, that’s an income range between $31,800 and $84,800.
It’s a move Peebles said county commissioners wanted. During that February meeting, all of the commissioners who spoke applauded the addition of more affordable housing.
To move forward with that plan, the county would need to amend the agreement and provide gap financing for the project. Peebles said that might be one of the areas of negotiation that the county was looking to end.
Initially, Peebles Corp. asked the county for $2.5 million and asked the city of Charlotte for $13.5 million. The developer went back and essentially split that request down the middle, according to county documents received by The Charlotte Observer. Now, Peebles is asking the county for $7 million and the city for $8.5 million.
Peebles said if the county had agreed to those changes, construction would still have started next year.
The next issue surrounds the demolition of the education building, which is a part of the redevelopment that wouldn’t be worked on until at least 2031.
Here’s a brief rundown on that dispute:
- Peebles Corp. was contractually obligated to demolish the education building by July 28.
- In April, Peebles Corp. informed the county that it would need a year extension on the demolition due to finding an unforeseen amount of asbestos in the building.
- In mid-April, the county denied that extension, calling the reason for the extension request “meritless.”
Peebles said he’s not sure why the county is so concerned with the demolition considering it doesn’t hinder Phase I construction nor does Peebles Corp. own the site. He added that Peebles Corp. offered to purchase the building but the offer was rejected by the county.
“We’re not really in the business of tearing down buildings on sites that we don’t own,” Peebles said.
What’s next for Brooklyn Village?
The county and the developer may have arbitration on the horizon, according to Peebles. If there is arbitration, Peebles said, the process wouldn’t affect the Phase I development. It would only pertain to whether Peebles Corp. has to demolish the education building.
“The project hasn’t started because of one party, Mecklenburg County,” Peebles said. “I’m hopeful that somebody will use some common sense at some point and say, ‘Hey, we want to get this done. We want some affordable housing. We want to get the project going.’ Let’s figure out a way to do that.
“We’re not the enemy here. Why not work with us.”
