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Eastland Mall Redevelopment


DigitalSky

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Surrounding apartments won't ever organically gentrify, and aren't likely to fully redevelop anytime soon. Strawberry Hill area redevelopment on Providence Rd is just now taking off, despite its much stronger market. Granted, apartment owners could rebuild after they completely depreciate and redevelopment makes economic sense. Just look at Silver Oak / Castlewood redevelopment on Monroe Rd. And yet Eastland is far from the surrounding socioeconomics of even Monroe Rd, for now.

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A local doctor wrote an editorial in the Observer last year stating that the city should reserve the mall site for a medical school. I thought this was a wonderful idea, especially if the school started out as a med school but grew into a school for virtually all medical sciences such as pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, physician assistant programs and the like. There is a school that did just that in California called the Western University of Health Sciences. It boasts nearly 4000 students and creates a half-billion dollar economic impact for the community in which it resides. Additionally, the school has 1000 full and part time faculty members and has several hundred support staff. How much would such a school do to turn around the fortunes of that side of town?

I know I'm a bit late to the game on this reply, but Western University is one of my customers. It's in Pomona, CA, in the "Inland Empire" suburbs of LA. That city used to be very desolate. Downtown was dead. But Western has really turned the place around. I was there when the school first started up and it's a different place now. I would love for Charlotte to get a medical and dental school. Not only because working with dental schools is what I do (my company's software - we are HQ'd here in Charlotte - has over 75% of the North American market for dental imaging software as customer), but I just know how much it brings to the community as far as jobs, reasonably priced healthcare, and of course, students. Dental schools usually locate in the not-so-affluent areas of town because that is who their clientele is. Instead of going to a licensed dentist, you can go to the school and pay a tiny fraction of the cost to have dental work done, and even though a student is working on you, they are supervised by extremely experienced faculty. Whether at the Eastland Mall site or elsewhere, I would really love to see a medical/dental school open in Charlotte.

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  • 1 month later...

This bit relates more to the Central/Albemarle/Shamrock area as a whole, but Charlotte has launched a new interactive website that allows users to pin ideas within the corridor, and rate other user submissions. This is very important, as money was awarded for the CIP, and apparently they are looking for feedback as to what projects they should fund. Some ideas I like so far:

 

Briar Creek Greenway extension

Campbell Creek Greenway extension

Shamrock complete street/road diet

 

If you have the time, please check out the website, and submit your feedback (you can sign in with Facebook or Google). The CIP was awarded $20 million, so that should give you an idea as to what kind of projects they could fund.

 

http://charlottenc.mindmixer.com/improvements-in-east-charlotte

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  • 3 weeks later...

There was another update on the Eastland site plan. It seems as though they have decided on the K-8 school occupying the rear of the site, with a urban storm water park at the front. They also want the Gold Line CityLynx to loop inside the center. Everything else in between is aimed for mid-rise, transit oriented development, including the surrounding areas. The goal is that the school, park, and eventual streetcar will help lure developers to build on the site. Here's the update:

 

http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/FocusAreas/EconomicDevelopment/Documents/5-21-15%20Eastland%20Update_Final.pdf

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  • 2 months later...

I believe this recommendation of a medical facility on the site of Eastland certainly has great points. I did my residency at East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, as the first residents for the then fledgling medical school and there was also a very fledgling new dentistry school. In fact a Dental School in an under-served area would have plenty of patients for the dental students to provide well supervised care in a teaching situation. As far as I know, Chapel Hill and East Carolina are the only Dental School and this would be an opportunity for UNCC to also expand. No one thought that East Carolina University would be granted a Medical School however no one should have underestimated the determination and connections that Leo Jenkins had in spearheading that effort. So, having ScotCLT and his advanced dental imaging services headquartered here in Charlotte is certainly a great reason to pursue this idea and have someone with our Planning and City Council to take this by the horns and see the progress toward seeding this ifea here in Charlotte and particularly the great space at Eastland. In addition, if the school K-8 is firm, this is an excellent opportunity for a pediatric dentistry curriculum too which is neglected generally in under-served areas.

 

Edited by Dr. Danny E. Huntley, MD
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I believe this recommendation of a medical facility on the site of Eastland certainly has great points. I did my residency at East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, as the first residents for the then fledgling medical school and there was also a very fledgling new dentistry school. In fact a Dental School in an under-served area would have plenty of patients for the dental students to provide well supervised care in a teaching situation. As far as I know, Chapel Hill and East Carolina are the only Dental School and this would be an opportunity for UNCC to also expand. No one thought that East Carolina University would be granted a Medical School however no one should have underestimated the determination and connections that Leo Jenkins had in spearheading that effort. So, having ScotCLT and his advanced dental imaging services headquartered here in Charlotte is certainly a great reason to pursue this idea and have someone with our Planning and City Council to take this by the horns and see the progress toward seeding this ifea here in Charlotte and particularly the great space at Eastland. In addition, if the school K-8 is firm, this is an excellent opportunity for a pediatric dentistry curriculum too which is neglected generally in under-served areas.

 

Welcome to the forum Dr. Huntley.  It is great to have your perspective on the issue of a medical school, as it is something we debate the merits of from time to time.

I think a medical/dental school at Eastland would be a great idea, but it doesn't seem as if the idea has caught too much traction beyond a short editorial Dr. Richard Reiling-the doctor spearheading the effort to bring a medical school to Charlotte-wrote last year.  Still the idea has a considerable amount of merit, and should be appropriately vetted as you stated.

One model that I think would work particularly well at Eastland is the Western University of Health Sciences model.  Western started as a small School of Osteopathic Medicine (at a defunct mall no less).  In less than 40 years, it has grown into a full health sciences university with a Dental School, Veterinary School, Pharmacy School, P.A. School, Podiatry School, Optometry School, and others in addition to the Medical School.  It has a student population nearing 4,000, a faculty population of approximately 1,000, and contributes $500 million per year to the economy of Pomona, CA.  Imagine how much better off the area around Eastland would be with such a school on site; it would forever change the economic fortunes of the area.

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  • 1 month later...

So, members of the community have turned the Eastland Mall parking lot into an open air market. Seems to be pretty successful since I noticed a large amount of tents from Central a few weeks back. I also wonder if there's a strong international presence there, as I've always believed that the east side's largest asset was its highly diverse population. Hopefully we'll hear more about future plans for the site soon:

openair3.jpg

Food trucks too!

Charlotte-Open-Air-Market-3.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

The latest in the Eastland site redevelopment http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article48701660.html

I'm a little perplexed by the BOCC's Republican members not participating, but I feel like there are some political histories I'm missing there. Have the GOP members suggested doing something specific with the site to date, or are they just throwing a tantrum?

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True, all new schools are sadly insular. But if Eastland is to come back as a neighborhood, it needs an open school built similar to many old schools now mothballed or lacking neighborhood-based enrollment. How sad that walkable schools like Elizabeth Elementary, Piedmont Middle, and Midtown High have County-wide enrollment, or not even used as schools anymore.

At the same time, the County is right to criticize the City for relying too heavily on a park and school as the only planned catalysts.

 

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Even though the movie studio proposal is long dead, I've always been a fan of pushing Central Ave, from Plaza-Midwood to Eastland, as an international/multicultural/arts corridor, and the Eastland parcel as the epicenter. Maybe the city could push to collaborate with CMS, CPCC, and UNCC, along with private institutions in the Charlotte area. Wouldn't happen with the current NC General Assembly, but maybe another UNC School of Arts would work perfectly in that location. Some parts of the plot could be reserved for apartments and mix-use development, along with retail facing Central. That wouldn't be done by the city of course, but they could break down the parcel into smaller portions and zone them appropriately. A theater could also be used as a major anchor for the site. They could even reserve some parts as open space, so the community can continue to utilize them as open air markets, concerts/shows, and other events. This would also be placing an attraction at the end of the Gold Line, one that people from Uptown and other parts Charlotte would want to visit.

That's just my daydream of the day...

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They seem hesitant to really champion this site as a full-fledged community (school, parks, mixed-use and dense residential/commercial). I'm concerned if the city doesnt take lead in selling off smaller parcels in a master-style plan, that any new development will be super mediocre. 

But then you have those WOW projects, like the movie studios, which I think are only as good as the duration of their hype.

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The movie studio deal was a joke from the start. I completely wish a zoo could go on this property. People say it's too small for a zoo, but if I googled correctly, Zoo Atlanta, which I really liked, is only 40 acres I believe. Eastland is 80 Acres. Make 40 Acres a zoo, then make the rest 40 more community oriented (school, mixed use, single family homes, etc.). It would probably bolster the Gold line ridership too.  It's a pipe dream, but oh well.

 

(I haven't been to Riverbanks in a long time, but I have been to Asheboro this summer. It was dead. Hundreds of parking spots... maybe.... 15 vehicles at most. Most of the time, I didn't see any other visitors.)

Edited by AirNostrumMAD
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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/11/2015 at 3:24 PM, AirNostrumMAD said:

The movie studio deal was a joke from the start.

I've been hearing so much lately about how the Chinese film industry is picking up speed, causing general revenue to shift away from Hollywood, which used to be the only big game in town. This is causing the American film business to have to consolidate itself a lot, meaning California. So if we had built the movie studio here, it probably would have struggled to be competitive. 

Edited by SgtCampsalot
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The film studio was a scheme to attract young people. The private market would've converted the old mall into a Latino-focused center years ago. But the old regime didn't approve. Now with Autry eyeing Raleigh, hopefully, East Charlotte can finally get some overdue diverse representation on Council. This dense, multicultural area always had the purchasing power, they just lacked the political power.

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  • 2 months later...
16 minutes ago, Third Strike said:

Looks like one part of the Eastland Mall property will see redevelopment soon. The city of Charlotte and CMS, have reached a deal for a new K-8 school on the northeastern section of parcel. City council will vote on the deal Monday. 

City reaches deal with CMS for language school on Eastland site

Good? Bad? I can see this being built in a way that truly anchors a mixed use community. On the other hand I can see this, and future development, being built in ways that don't relate to each other, 

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On 3/11/2016 at 10:57 AM, SgtCampsalot said:

Good? Bad? I can see this being built in a way that truly anchors a mixed use community. On the other hand I can see this, and future development, being built in ways that don't relate to each other, 

If the rest of the site is built for mix-use purposes, then I don't see a big problem with a neighborhood school. That area has a high concentration of people, especially children, so a new school is badly needed. Based on the conceptual plans we currently see, I wonder if or when the city will grade the rest of the site, and then install a new road grid there. The city should use the money they gain from this sell to build a street grid, and then break the site into smaller parcels to sell to developers that follow the city's vision for this site.

Here's a concept of what the K-8 school site will look like:

http://charlottenc.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?M=F&ID=e13b68ff-e1e7-41b0-bef0-4d46ef0aef5f.pdf

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  • 4 weeks later...

Some of Eastland's residents are protesting the upcoming decision to sell parts of the site to CMS for a new school:

http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/local-news/117006786-story

I'm still not against the sale. City Council just needs to create a very strict and thorough plan to integrate any future development with the new school. I think a new K-8 would work very well with any mix-use development that happens there. I am against selling another portion of the land to the county for a park, unless it's a small green space, or purchasing the nearby property of the old Hannaford lot. A new school and large park would take up much of the site, and that I think could have a negative impact on any future, meaningful development. Plus, the Campbell Greenway/Park is next to Eastland, and I am in favor of a trail or on-land connector between the two. Utilizing the capped lake and stream for whatever is built there is also a plus.

On 3/18/2016 at 9:35 AM, southslider said:

Eastland still needs a catalyst. Rumor is that the Regional Farmers Market on Yorkmont in West Charlotte is debating renovation or relocation. If the latter, Eastland would be a great site.

There was a farmer's market on Independence, Hillbilly Produce, which had intentions of relocating somewhere in east Charlotte. They're closed now, but they did list Eastland as a potential area.

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  • 7 months later...

The city is issuing a request of qualifications for architect and planning firms that could help shape a vision for the Eastland site. The deadline is December 21.

City once again eyes possibilities for former Eastland Mall property

Torti Gallas is one firm city leaders really want to work with. They were responsible for a similar project in Colorado:

http://www.downtownwestminster.us/Portals/1/DowntownWestminstermarketingbooklet.pdf

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On 11/29/2016 at 3:46 PM, Third Strike said:

The city is issuing a request of qualifications for architect and planning firms that could help shape a vision for the Eastland site. The deadline is December 21.

City once again eyes possibilities for former Eastland Mall property

Torti Gallas is one firm city leaders really want to work with. They were responsible for a similar project in Colorado:

http://www.downtownwestminster.us/Portals/1/DowntownWestminstermarketingbooklet.pdf

Confused as to why a project that has had issues getting going would have such a short deadline.  Never worked in a architect or planning firm but everywhere else seems to slow down during December.  Why not put to January 31?  

As for the site itself, maybe the city should be doing more than asking for people to tell them what to do..... 

Lay down a grid, identify a budget for infrastructure improvements and resource allocation.  Give a framework and let it grow over time...

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  • 3 weeks later...

How long ago did they demolish the Coliseum? 10 years? They still haven't developed that chunk of land besides some apartments.

 

I'd hate for the majority of the Eastland site to sit abandoned for another 10 years. They need to get something going there ASAP

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On 12/19/2016 at 3:06 AM, lit said:

How long ago did they demolish the Coliseum? 10 years? They still haven't developed that chunk of land besides some apartments.

I'd hate for the majority of the Eastland site to sit abandoned for another 10 years. They need to get something going there ASAP

I am on the opposite end.  I would rather see it empty until the right project comes along rather than developing it for the sake of development.   I would hate to see such a massive parcel inside of the city be underdeveloped density wise because it was rushed.  

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