How can city-boost east side Charlotte NC Real Estate? The next steps for Eastland Mall redevelopment is to find a developer & extend land options. A new town center could open on the East land Mall site as soon as July 2013, according to a city time line presented this month. Tom Flynn, the city's economic development director, told a group of the Charlotte Home owners residents that the schedule is optimistic and depends on several factors, including a number of City Council votes. But if it succeeds, the project, at a total estimated cost of $200 million, will be the city's most ambitious effort to jumpstart a flagging business corridor of Charlotte NC Real Estate.
Many East side residents see the mall, which has lost two anchors and at least a quarter of its tenants in recent years, as a blight on the area. They believe putting something new on the 70 acre site at Central Avenue and Alblemarle Rd. is key to bringing up their property values and quality of life for their Charlotte Homes. If the project succeeds, it would transform the 1970s shopping center into a pedestrian friendly mix of new housing and retail. The city's contribution would cover about $17 million in road, sidewalk and other infrastructure improvements, as well as an $8 million fire station. The rest would have to come from a private developer willing to work with the city and community of Charlotte NC. Already, the city has a stake in the malls complicated real estate. The property has five owners, but Charlotte has spent $200,000.00 to purchase options to buy parcels from two of them the Belk and Dillard’s anchor stores. Those options expire in March, but Flynn has said he will work with the city Council to extend them to the end of 2009, to give more time for the city to work out the deal. The options would allow the city to buy the properties for $3.5 million each, but the city hopes instead to use the agreements as leverage to steer the redevelopment. City officials would rather transfer the options to a developer and had the city purchase a portion of the mall property. The owner of the biggest portion of the mall, Glimcher Realty Trust, tried for three years to sell it. The company recently restructured a $42 million loan and plans to try again to market the property. Glimcher expects to hire a broker in January, according to city staff. The city hopes that broker will be able to find a developer to work with the city. The city has given Glimcher a list of the qualities you would like to see in a private developer partner-including experience working in public/private partnerships and experience developing urban, mixed use sites.
Eastside residents at a meeting this month worried that Charlotte Homes built in the town center would be priced to low. They have seen are own home values decline in recent years, in part because of Eastland Mall's reputation for crime. They said they would like to see quality shopping and a grocery store at that site. Some Eastland Mall tenants who also attended the meeting said they were concerned that they could be kicked out without notice. EJ Hicks, whose wife runs a beauty shop in the mall said she talked to several storeowners about the issue and "They don't know whether they're going to come in next month and start tearing things down, or next year." Jake Hudspeth, who lives in Coventry Woods, remembers when he could go to the department stores at the mall near his neighborhood. Now, "he has to go across town to buy a suit or pair of shoes", he said. "We need places to shop", he said. "We need a supermarket." Flynn said a grocery store is feasible for that site, but not a department store. He said that the neighborhood could expect smaller stores to fill the retail space in the planned town center. He encouraged residents to keep giving honest feedback about the plans and support their local officials through the process. "This thing will have many ups and Downs" he said.
