$8M Excelsior Club rezoning sought in Charlotte a year after plans unveiled
A year after revealing a new plan for the historic Excelsior Club in west Charlotte, a developer has taken the next step to try to turn the site back into a nightclub.
Local developer Shawn Kennedy of Kennedy Properties & Development, in partnership with Tim Sittema of Crosland Southeast, has proposed a $7.8 million plan that involves demolishing the original 1932 structure and constructing a near-replica on Beatties Ford Road.
The club was a vibrant social and cultural hub for Black residents, acting as a cornerstone of nightlife throughout the era of segregation and after. However, as integration provided new options, attendance declined.
The building closed for repairs 10 years ago and never reopened. Multiple attempts to revive the historic property have so far been unsuccessful.
Historical Excelsior Inc. filed a rezoning petition with the city on Friday “to develop the site with a nightclub/bar.” Historical Excelsior is listed as a nonprofit registered to Kennedy, state business registration records show.
Last May, Kennedy said he had signed a contract to buy Excelsior Club from owner Kenwood Investments. Kenwood, based in Sonoma, California, has owned the property since 2019.
The property is still owned by Kenwood, Mecklenburg County property records show. Kennedy said last year that he had site control of the property.
Kennedy’s plan is to raze the building which he said is no longer salvageable after years of neglect, then rebuild a near replica for a nightclub. The project includes a restaurant, meeting rooms and museum space. His plan is supported by $3 million in public funding, with $1.5 million each from the city and county.
Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Additional information about the plans was not immediately available in city filings.
Excelsior Club’s significance in Charlotte
The Excelsior Club is a historically and architecturally significant landmark.
Founded in 1944 by James “Jimmie” Robert McKee and his wife, Minnie, the club was Charlotte’s first exclusive nightclub for Black residents and served as a vital social hub during the Jim Crow era. It was a primary gathering place for Black political and community leaders to network and develop strategies related to the civil rights movement.
The club also was listed as a safe haven in The Negro Motorist Green Book from 1963-1967. Over its decades of operation, it hosted music legends such as Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole and James Brown.
Architecturally, the building is one of the last remaining Art Moderne-style structures in Charlotte, with its current design dating back to renovations in 1952.
In 2019, Excelsior Club was added to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of 11 most endangered historic places. But since sitting vacant, the property has decayed and listed in city property records as unoccupiable.
Other attempts to revive the Excelsior Club in West Charlotte
The site has faced multiple failed revival attempts over the last decade.
A previous plan by Kenwood Investments was to establish a 1950s-designed boutique hotel and museum stalled following a May 2023 community meeting, primarily due to a shortfall of parking spaces. While city officials attempted to help secure additional land, the parking deficit prevented the project from moving forward.
In 2019, Kenwood purchased the property for $1.35 million. Kenwood has not responded to multiple requests for comment over the past years, and again on Monday.
But there’s another idea for the property.
The Charlotte Museum of History, led by CEO Terri White, opposed the demolition of the landmark. White argued that the original building should be saved, citing Charlotte’s “horrible reputation of tearing things down” as a cycle that must be broken.
The museum’s vision involves a $20 to 25 million rehabilitation project to restore the existing two-story structure and add a connecting Black History Center focused on regional history.
Former club owner Ken Koontz has expressed support for the demolition-and-replica approach, calling Kennedy’s plan a “better vision” that is more “realistic.”
