Brooklyn Village project in uptown Charlotte hit with foreclosure, land transfer
The fate of the $700 million mixed-use Brooklyn Village redevelopment in uptown Charlotte continues its descent into uncertainty.
Developers of the long-awaited project returned part of the 17-acre site back to its lender on May 20 for almost $24.4 million, according to Mecklenburg County property records.
The move comes weeks after a foreclosure notice was filed by construction loan lender Peachtree Group against New York-based developer The Peebles Corp. for two parcels at 700 and 800 E. Brooklyn Village Ave.
Peachtree, then operating as Stonehill Group, provided Peebles with an almost $23.6 million construction loan in 2023 for 6 acres of the Brooklyn Village site, according to Mecklenburg County records.
The site was to hold the first phase of the project, which after a few changes, was set to be mainly affordable housing.
The Charlotte Business Journal first reported the foreclosure and property transfer.
The property transfer is just the latest delay for the project, which was initially scheduled to be completed in 2021. Nothing has sprouted from the ground since Peebles was named master developer of the project in 2016 by Mecklenburg County.
Horizontal grading has been done to the site. But other than that, only delays and discontent have come from the project.
It’s unclear what this latest issue means for the project moving forward. Mecklenburg County officials nor Peachtree responded to request for comments on the property transfer.
With the decade-long squabbling between the two entities, that’s unlikely.
A Brooklyn Village refresher
The disjointed relationship between Peebles and Mecklenburg is another bump in Brooklyn’s history, which has borne the brunt of government interference and disinvestment.
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.
A decade ago, 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.
The project was set to be an ode to the Brooklyn neighborhood.
Brooklyn Village delays
But instead Brooklyn Village has been one big delay.
First, a five-year closing process delayed the project. Peebles didn’t officially own the site until the end of 2023.
Then, unfavorable market conditions cited by Peebles Corp. in August 2024, including high interest rates, lack of lending support and an oversupply of apartments, delayed the project start date until this year.
Changing gears to both fund the project and boost morale, Peebles revamped its 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 $33,650 and $89,750.
It was a move Peebles said county commissioners wanted. During a February 2025 meeting, all the commissioners who spoke applauded the addition of more affordable housing.
But later that year, applauds turned into discontent voiced in several closed session meetings.
In August 2025, Mecklenburg County decided to end negotiations with Peebles Corp. during a closed session, as reported by WFAE. What negotiations the county was ending was unclear, as Mecklenburg County didn’t elaborate.
Peebles Corp. previously said two negotiations were on the table: 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. The Board of Education building is part of the phase II construction.
But the last time the two entities spoke was in November, WFAE reported in April.
The county again questioned why Peebles Corp. hasn’t built anything on the site. There was no answer.
Will Brooklyn Village ever rise?
Peebles still owns the remaining portions of the site.
Last year, the developer said a majority of the delays is due to Mecklenburg County.
But Peebles is still looking forward to working with the county on phases II and III on the project, a Peebles representative said Tuesday.
It seems like the only thing that may solve the decade-long discord between Mecklenburg and Peebles Corp. is the courtroom.
