Here’s what’s next for Eastland Mall redevelopment after Tepper pulled out
The long dormant former Eastland Mall site will soon be a busy construction site — despite the news late last month that billionaire David Tepper was pulling out of the project.
East Charlotte residents have seen plans come and go over the past several years, including failed efforts to bring a movie studio and entertainment district centered on a fake ski slope.
But on Wednesday, crews began a years-long effort to build a $175 million, mixed-use development on the 80-acre site. The project eventually will include homes, shops, restaurants, offices and a public park.
The developer said construction of the project was not dependent on the Tepper Sports & Entertainment component, which included plans to build a youth academy and soccer fields on about 20 acres. TSE is the ownership group of the Carolina Panthers and Major League Soccer’s expansion team Charlotte FC, run by Tepper.
Some urban design and architecture experts see Tepper’s leaving as a “blessing in disguise,” giving the city and developer a chance to build more of a gathering space for the public to use. Others, including a vendor who used to sell fruit on the empty parking lot prior to construction, hold out hope that they can return to the site.
Some residents are simply ready to see construction underway after years of looking at an empty site. The project, some residents told The Charlotte Observer, can be a catalyst for growth in a part of town that hasn’t seen much economic development in years past.
“Anything at this point,” said Bobbi Almond, president of the nearby Wilora Lake Neighborhood Association. “We will be thrilled.”
Here’s a look at what’s next for the former Eastland Mall redevelopment.
Eastland under construction for years
Construction crews started Wednesday grading, adding utilities, building internal roads and improving intersections, said Tim Sittema, managing partner with the project’s developer Crosland Southeast.
That’s expected to take 15 to 18 months, Sittema told the Observer.
Vertical construction on apartments, single-family homes and some of the commercial buildings will likely start around next March.
There will be about 160 single-family homes and 260 apartments. There also could be about 70 senior living homes with an affordable component. The initial phase of the project will also include 17,500 square feet of office and retail.
The entire project will take five years to finish, Sittema said.
The city bought the mall in 2012 and tore it down. After struggling in the face of competition from nearby malls such as SouthPark and Northlake, Eastland had closed in 2010.
City officials have long pitched the Crosland project as a catalyst for economic development in east Charlotte. The neighborhoods surrounding the site have fewer jobs per acre than the county average, according to Observer files.
What will go on Tepper’s portion?
The answer is not yet clear. While Crosland was disappointed not to have Tepper Sports be a part of the project, it was not surprised by Tepper dropping out, Sittema told the Observer in an email.
Sittema said Crosland had been waiting on TSE for months to “make some basic decisions.”
Crosland’s plans at Eastland were not dependent on Tepper’s commitment.
Expecting a decision that Tepper might pull out, Crosland began marketing efforts for that portion of the site months ago, Sittema said. Crosland has so far been “very encouraged” by the level of interest.
“We hope to be able to announce our updated plans very soon,” Sittema said.
Without offering specifics, Sittema said Crosland is working with several outdoor active lifestyle/sports groups to come to those 20 acres. Crosland is in discussions with at least three partners, Sittema said during the Wednesday groundbreaking.
A large number of residents responded at town meetings and in surveys that they wanted open space, sports fields and active outdoor activities for families on the site, Sittema said.
“We still hope to deliver on the community’s desire now that TSE has backed out,” he said.
What about the Central Flea Market?
A number of vendors, many of them Spanish-speaking, used to set up on the empty parking lot, selling everything from food to household supplies.
But in February, when some vendors were preparing to set up for another weekend, the city told them they were no longer allowed on site. Construction was going to start soon, and the city said it had already ended a lease that allowed the vendors to operate there.
The city has been looking for another location for the Central Flea Market vendors. It hasn’t found an ideal location.
One vendor, Jorge Castaneda, told the Observer he is still hopeful he can work out a plan with the city to return to the Eastland site. He planned to have a meeting Monday night with other vendors to discuss an idea for a more permanent setup.
“It’s time to give us a chance,” Castaneda said, adding that he’s been earning much less now and falling behind on credit card bills.
But a flea market doesn’t appear likely to return.
Sittema wrote that at this point, Crosland does not have room to include the vendors in the development with all the other uses planned.
Asked Wednesday about the prospect of a return for either the skate park or flea market vendors, Sittema told the Observer that Crosland needs to explore all options.
He said the components of the project need to be compatible with the rest of the development. If there is real estate left over after another partner is selected for the 20 acres, Crosland could consider other uses for the development, Sittema said.
East Charlotte community hopes
The redevelopment will be a “big advancement” for the east Charlotte community, said Greg Asciutto who chairs the board of the nonprofit neighborhood advocacy group CharlotteEAST.
“Our residents shouldn’t have to travel to center city to make a living wage,” Asciutto said. His group has long pushed for a large-scale economic catalyst at the site.
Asciutto described Crosland as a receptive and willing partner that has listened to the concerns of the community.
Tepper Sports’ departure from the project opens a door for the city to find a “truly committed partner” on that portion of the site. Someone, Asciutto said, who is willing to sign on the dotted line and commit to east Charlotte.
Like others in the area, Asciutto has seen and heard about other projects that have failed to come to the Eastland site.
He was not surprised when the news broke that Tepper would no longer be a part of it. He hadn’t been hearing much on that side of the project, and things got quiet.
“You hold your breath until you see the dirt being moved,” Asciutto said.
Eastland as a gathering space?
The Tepper Sports component of the project was the least favorite part for Deb Ryan, an urban design and architecture professor at UNC Charlotte.
That’s because so much of that portion would be taken up by soccer fields and parking lots.
“That kind of land use is only used for part of the year,” Ryan, a former chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission, said. “The rest of the time it just sits there dead.”
Ryan believes what is needed most is an urban park that can act as a community gathering space versus recreational space. She pointed to Romare Bearden Park or First Ward Park, but even smaller.
That gathering space can be a catalyst for a mixed-use neighborhood, giving people a place to go when they also live or work nearby.
It comes down to creating a destination while responding to other needs the community has.
“When it comes to a mixed-use plan,” Ryan said, “the thing you’re looking for is what you don’t have.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
