Eastland Mall groundbreaking the ‘start of a lot more to come’ with $175M project
No Tepper, no problem.
Construction is finally underway at the old Eastland Mall despite the absence of David Tepper. The billionaire sports owner recently pulled out of the $175 million redevelopment project.
Local officials including Mayor Vi Lyles, councilman Matt Newton and county commissioner Mark Jerrell gathered Wednesday morning in the parking lot of the 80-acre site in east Charlotte. The project also officially got a new name: Eastland Yards.
For years, the city-owned land has sat vacant, a vast parking lot cleared of buildings. A skate park was built on the site and vendors previously set up a flea market on weekends.
But now construction crews will begin transforming the empty site into a mixed-use project led by Crosland Southeast.
“For so long the east side has been somewhat neglected, or we felt that way,” Jerrell said after the groundbreaking. “Today I hope is the start of a lot more to come.”
Eastland Yards construction plans
Construction will begin with adding utilities and grading, among other work.
Vertical construction should start in about a year and a half on apartments, single-family homes and some of the commercial buildings, Tim Sittema, managing partner with Crosland Southeast has told The Charlotte Observer.
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 is expected to take five years to finish.
Councilman Larken Egleston thinks the visuals of construction starting will generate excitement in the community, which has been waiting for well over a decade to see the site transformed.
It also will help spur private development around and near the site, Egleston told the Observer.
“I’ve already heard from some folks who are looking at making investments now in this corridor because of what they know is coming to Eastland,” Egleston said.
But questions remain about what will come to the 20 acres that was going to have a youth academy and soccer fields from Tepper Sports & Entertainment.
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 heard from community members and neighborhood groups that residents wanted open space, sports fields and active outdoor activities for families, Sittema said.
The developer still hopes to deliver on that desire.
Crosland is talking to at least three parties that Sittema said appear like viable options. Without sharing more details, he said an announcement could come in months, not weeks.
‘Loose faith’ in a skate park return
Still, others like the mostly Spanish-speaking flea market vendors and the organizers of a skate park on the site are hopeful they can find a home back on the property.
“I have loose faith that something will work out,” said Rob Grauer who has been speaking at recent City Council meetings about saving the park.
Skaters are still showing up to the park on weeknights and weekends. He pointed to the park’s high usage as a reason to keep the skate park on site, saying it’s a built-in market for the future development.
The advocacy group Action NC is calling upon the City Council to bring the flea market vendors back to the site.
The vendors helped provide fresh produce and daily home products to the surrounding community for close to a decade, the group said in a statement the day before the groundbreaking. It also helped serve underrepresented and underserved communities, Action NC wrote in a statement.
Sittema told the Observer in an email last week that there isn’t room for the flea market vendors with all the other uses planned.
Asked Wednesday about the prospect of a return, 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.
“The community has expressed specifically sports and outdoor activities,” Sittema said. “That’s where our primary focus is, that’s what the city has directed us to focus on and that’s what we’ll continue to execute on.”
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.
This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 12:57 PM.
