Despite Northlake Mall money woes, developer aims to build 600 apartments there for $180M
A developer wants to build over 600 apartments to adjoin one of Charlotte’s largest shopping centers, the financially troubled Northlake Mall.
Paramount Development of Sarasota, Florida, is seeking to rezone a 20-acre site along Northlake Mall Drive to allow “two multi-family residential communities to be part of Northlake Mall.” Plans call for a maximum of 603 apartments with gated access.
The site plan shows two development areas on mall outparcels, with vacant land and parking lots, according to a rezoning petition filed with the city July 12.
This will be Paramount’s first project in North Carolina and the company expects to invest about $180 million in the project, Tom Settle, co-principal of Paramount, told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday.
One area is in the back near AMC Northlake 14, Settle said. The other area is in front of the mall near the foodcourt between Dillard’s and Macy’s, off West WT Harris Boulevard and Northlake Centre Parkway. One area will have 292 multi-family residential units and surface parking, and the other will have up to 311 apartments.
“We’re not taking any parking spaces away (from the mall),” Settle said.
The luxury one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments will have several amenities, including dog parks, and pedestrian connections to the mall and greenway. The clubhouses at each area, Settle said, could include shared workspaces and small offices.
Rental costs of the apartments were not available, although Settle said they would be competitive.
The mall’s owner is TM Northlake Mall, which is affiliated with Starwood Capital Group. Starwood purchased the mall seven years ago.
Northlake Mall’s financial troubles
The two-story, 1.1-million-square-foot mall is likely to be sold after TM Northlake Mall defaulted on its property loan in November 2019, The Charlotte Observer reported following the last update in the fall.
The amount of the debt payments owed wasn’t specified. However, Northlake is listed with three other malls owned by Starwood in Florida, Michigan and Virginia, for $725 million in loans issued in fall 2014.
Northlake Mall went into receivership in May 2021. The receiver, Spinoso Real Estate Group based in Syracuse, N.Y., manages and operates the property and collects rent.
However, Settle said the developers aren’t concerned, calling the combination of mall and residents a “mixed-use village.” He doesn’t see the mall failing as much as being redeveloped.
“This is good real estate,” he said, noting it’s near Interstate 77. “We look at it (the mall) as an asset, an amenity, that will only get better.”
The mall has over 120 stores, including Apple and Belk.
About Paramount Development
Settle said he noticed the vacant Northlake Mall outparcels while in the Charlotte region looking at another potential job site.
A few years ago, he and co-principal Don Paxton formed Paramount Development, an apartment developer, after working together for more than 30 years. Paramount has projects in Florida, Georgia and New York.
“We’ve been working with major mall owners and some of the anchors for the last four years,” Settle said. “We cherry-pick where we think we can make apartments work.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2022 at 5:55 AM.