Eastland Yards twist: Charlotte City Council asks both developers to work together
The Eastland Yards saga took a surprise turn Monday, with the Charlotte City Council telling developers of two proposals to go back to the drawing board to come up with a new plan together.
Councilwoman Marjorie Molina, whose District 5 includes the Eastland Yards property, proposed the new plan at a packed city council meeting where attendees expected a decision on the future of 29 acres at the former Eastland Mall. Twenty-six people delivered a mixture of desires during a public comment period before the vote.
“We will deliver,” Molina said of the compromise idea.
The motion passed unanimously.
It directs the teams behind QC East — which would include a soccer academy, esports hub and amphitheater — and the Eastland Yards Indoor Sports Complex to work with city staff to present their new plan to the council within 45 days. The new plan should include a mix of what both projects included: indoor sports venues, soccer fields, food and retail.
“My hope with all of this is that at the end of 45 days we can produce something that is absolutely successful,” Molina said, acknowledging there’s “risk” to the plan.
The council’s economic development committee voted 3-1 in early August to rank the QC East development ahead of the indoor sports complex proposal, with Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera the lone vote against it. If the council waited further, it could delay grading and utility work on previously approved sections of the former Eastland Mall’s redevelopment, Tim Sittema, Crosland managing partner, said in August.
But there’s a benefit to waiting in potentially finding a solution that will last, said Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Winston on Monday.
“We cannot have Eastland sitting there bald,” Winston said, adding the city needs a back-up plan for the property that could involve working with Mecklenburg County on a park.
Community reaction to Eastland Yards decision
Despite Molina’s motion beforehand, a number of residents spoke out during the public hearing on their preference between what were the final ideas for Eastland Yards.
The majority said they still back the indoor sports complex.
Emily Wegener, a teacher and mother who lives near the Eastland site, told the council she was concerned about the traffic and noise impact of the QC East proposal. Wegener said the indoor sports complex would provide more equitable opportunities.
“We want to raise our daughter in an area of the city that supports residents at all socio-economic levels,” she said.
Charlotte EAST chair Greg Asciutto told the council his group was pleased by how communicative the team behind the indoor sports complex has been with east Charlotte residents.
“Instead of telling us what was in our best interest that team trusted us and gave us the autonomy to decide for ourselves,” he said.
But not all who spoke were unified behind the indoor sports idea idea.
Christian Cruit, managing director of Sportslink adult sports league, said QC East would address a shortage of soccer fields in Charlotte.
Other speakers on behalf of the QC East proposal included representatives of Southern Entertainment and Brad Wylde, executive director of Charlotte Soccer Academy. Both groups have components of the QC East proposal.
“There are so many children in that area that want to play soccer and don’t have facilities to do so,” Wylde said.
Petitions signed for Eastland options
Both sides of the Eastland debate touted support from East Charlotte residents in the months leading up to the council’s final decision.
Charlotte EAST in June announced a petition in favor of the indoor sports complex proposal. That petition grew to more than a 1,000 signatures by August, including representatives from the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association, the Latin American Coalition, coaches and public school officials.
“We’re ready to go and ready to wait,” Asciutto previously told the Observer of his group’s support for the project.
The team behind QC East had a petition of their own supporting its plan with more than 950 signatures, according to an email to the City Council and Mayor Vi Lyles obtained by the Observer.
“Notably, nearly 400 signatories reside in East Side neighborhoods in direct proximity to the site,” the QC East team said in a letter accompanying the petition. “This overwhelming response underscores the genuine desire of those who live closest to the area to see our vision realized.”
Eastland Yards decision timeline
The fate of what remains open at Eastland Yards has been undecided since Tepper Sports and Entertainment pulled out of plans to build a youth academy and soccer fields at the site in July 2022.
Three other possibilities for the land — a Target, an aquatics center and a publicly owned recreational facility — were previously eliminated from contention by the city.
The city finalized its purchase of the property in 2012, and the mall was demolished in 2013.
A skatepark that emerged at the site in the wake of the mall’s demolition was closed in 2022. The Charlotte Skate Foundation announced in April a plan to work with the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department to build a new skatepark near the site, Observer news partner WSOC reported.
This story was originally published August 28, 2023 at 9:59 PM.
