1108 replies to this topic

[StevenRocks]

I think Sears will hold its own if they stay at Eastland. Sears has ben the last surviving store in many a dead mall, and Eastland's still very much alive.

csedwards72, do like cantnot said and go during the day. Also, check out Harold Pener: Man of Fashion. It's a very urban store, but it's actually pretty nice.

[NOcityrox]

Being a contributor to Eastland Mall and living in that neighborhood, I feel that Charlotte doesn't really care about the poorer areas and is focusing more on building bigger houses and more skyscrapers. I don't mind skyscrapers, but places like Eastland are the only place for some people near Eastland to go. Eastland is still much alive, if only the stores would have the courage to stay and look past crime and demographics. Stores that don't make a profit there? Sure, leave! Just hopefully a new store will take it's place. My point is... low-income areas need places to hang out to, and if you close down Eastland we will just go to the next closest mall (Mint Hill). When we get there will they close that down too?

Edited by NOcityrox, 03 September 2005 - 04:57 PM.

[DigitalSky]

I agree, the people of Eastland need a place to shop too, as i've said before, closing down the mall isn't a solution. I wish the city would do something or this public-private coalition or whatnot and not let the mall decay.

[monsoon]

I honestly don't know what the city or county government could do to save a retail establishment such as Eastland without converting to something else that is non-retail.

Its unfortunate, but the vast majority of national retailers, which is what you are mostly going to find in a mall, are not interesting in locating in areas where they can't make money. And they can't make money in areas where people are afraid to go because the place is littered with crowds (mostly teenagers) who are there to "hang out". Retail is a shared responsibility. If a community wants to have retail, they have to behave decently enough to support it. If you want to see Eastland's future, look at the Freedom Mall. There used to be a Sears there too.

On the other hand, I think malls are bad for a community anyway.

[MZT]

Mall development and big money are bound with conservative, tried-and-true strategies.

Even without the crime and demographic problems, Eastland would still struggle simply because it isn't on an interstate. I doubt any developer today would even consider a mall at a location served only by surface streets.

South Park may be surrounded by surface roads too, but it gradually built up to where it is. If all that land was available today, I doubt someone would propose making the entire thing retail.

When the Bridges in Mint Hill opens, we'll have a sparkling new mall, WITH interstate access, AWAY from east side. For just about any retailer, this choice is the epitome of "no-brainer".

Eastland's best hope is for an "angel" (one individual with a lot of money and vision) to step in and do something bold. It will not happen from a board or committee.

I have to wonder who exactly would be interested in buying the mall. Glimcher may find that serious buyers are shy, until they can see what impact The Bridges will have.

Edited by MZT, 04 September 2005 - 06:26 AM.

[DigitalSky]

that's very true. No mall today is planned at surface streets, virtually all new ones are planned at interstates

[csedwards72]

With the US's rapid demographic changes (soaring minority population), surely one of these days someone will come up with an urban-theme department store anchor for urban malls, perhaps just as Magic Johnson movie theaters have done for the movie theater industry. Eastland seems to attract large crowds still- they just aren't the crowds that would shop at Nordstrom, Dillard's or Parisian. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to see an opportunity there.

[StevenRocks]

Has anyone here been to The Mall at Prince Georges (former Prince Gerorges Plaza) in Hyattsvile, Maryland recently? I went there this weekend. That mall is off the interstate and in a minority neighborhood just like Eastland.

The only big difference is that it's located next to a subway stop, but in many ways it's got the same logistics going against it as Eastland (in fact it's even older) yet it's successful.

Why? Because the mall owners give a damn about being in a minority neighborhood. There are a variety of stores, a mix of uses (including a senior center), and the grounds are well-kept. They replaced an empty five-and-dime with a very successful Target store, and recently performed a major renovation that makes the center look modern and fresh, even though it's nearly 50 years old.

PG Plaza is no Tysons Corner, but it's a glimpse of what Eastland could become in the right hands.

[UptownGrrl]

StevenRocks, on Sep 5 2005, 01:25 AM, said:

Has anyone here been to The Mall at Prince Georges (former Prince Gerorges Plaza) in Hyattsvile, Maryland recently?  I went there this weekend.  That mall is off the interstate and in a minority neighborhood just like Eastland. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Progress has been a long-time coming in P.G. Took a long time for retailers to connect that though it is a largely minority area, those that live there have some of the highest per-capita incomes in the nation. Residents would otherwise travel 20 miles into parts of DC or Annapolis to shop. They've been practically begging for local, reasonably upscale retail. I think it was that type of clamoring and available disposable income that led to the resurgence of PG Plaza.

The parallel is that several years ago it was a scary place to go; but the economic demographics have increased and so, it gradually got better. Retailers realized that if they invested, there were people there who would shop and spend. Hopefully Eastland and the whole east part of Charlotte can hope for a similar renaissance. The problem here is that east Charlotte residents can just very easily opt for other nearby shopping venues.

[StevenRocks]

UptownGrrl, on Sep 7 2005, 03:28 PM, said:

Hopefully Eastland and the whole east part of Charlotte can hope for a similar renaissance. The problem here is that east Charlotte residents can just very easily opt for other nearby shopping venues.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is true, but still, I think there's enough distance between the other shopping venues and east Charlotte to make some new retail work at Eastland.

[DigitalSky]

I think Dillard's is going to close its Eastland location soon... because look

http://kivera.dillar...Charlotte%2C+NC

Eastland isn't even listed on Dillard's own WEBSITE anymore!!!

[NCMike1981]

that's not a good sign...Id be looking for going out of business signs to be popping up soon...maybe they were waiting for Northlake to open...although news like this tends to leak out weeks or months earlier....

[StevenRocks]

That's unfortunate.

Although I'm sure it's just a web error right now, I don't think Dillard's Eastland is going to be around a lot longer with Northlake opening. If it's not closing now, it'll probably be after Christmas.

[DigitalSky]

I hope it's just a web error...

[NCMike1981]

Dillard's website still doesn't list Eastland. Any1 been there recently or heard from any inside sources about the status of the store remaining open?

[MZT]

...agree with StevenRocks... watch them in January. Do they restock? Or hang "everything must go" signs?

[csedwards72]

MZT, on Oct 1 2005, 01:34 PM, said:

...agree with StevenRocks... watch them in January. Do they restock? Or hang "everything must go" signs?

The Dillard's at Greenville Mall and McAlister Square in Greenville, SC both closed; the McAlister Square one closed in 1995 and the Greenville Mall closed recently- perhaps 2003. Both stores seemed well-stocked until the bitter end. Both malls died afterwards.

[otherstream]

csedwards72, on Oct 4 2005, 03:43 PM, said:

The Dillard's at Greenville Mall and McAlister Square in Greenville, SC both closed; the McAlister Square one closed in 1995 and the Greenville Mall closed recently- perhaps 2003. Both stores seemed well-stocked until the bitter end. Both malls died afterwards.

At Carolina Circle in Greensboro, I believe they went with the dreaded Dillard's Outlet conecpt, which was an expansion of the Ivey's Outlet which had taken over the lower level before Dillard's bought Ivey's. The mall finally died, but Monkey Ward's stayed on until bankruptcy, presiding over an empty mall surrounded by empty big box stores and empty banks...

Now it's a vacant lot awaiting a Wal-Mart Supercenter...

[csedwards72]

otherstream, on Oct 4 2005, 04:56 PM, said:

At Carolina Circle in Greensboro, I believe they went with the dreaded Dillard's Outlet conecpt, which was an expansion of the Ivey's Outlet which had taken over the lower level before Dillard's bought Ivey's. The mall finally died, but Monkey Ward's stayed on until bankruptcy, presiding over an empty mall surrounded by empty big box stores and empty banks...

Now it's a vacant lot awaiting a Wal-Mart Supercenter...

Greenville Mall also had a Dillard's clearance center on the second floor of the store. It was a sad sight. At least Eastland might avoid having one of those if the store is just closed rather than allowed to linger on. The main floor of the Greenville Mall store and the whole McAlister store seemed well-stocked, though.

Edited by csedwards72, 04 October 2005 - 03:43 PM.

[NCMike1981]

Kind of off subject but I have always wondered why, in Durham, Dillards never signed onto the Southpoint Mega Mall, but instead chose to keep stores in University Mall in Chapel Hill and South Square Mall (I believe they had planned on the mall not completely dying, they did survive for 6 months after the opening of Southpoint, pretty much the only thing left in the mall by the time it left). It just seems odd to me. Did Dillards do so well at the 2 old locations they did not feel a desire to open at the new 5 anchor mall, or did they simply wait too long to sign onto the project?

I would have liked for Dillards to have been incorporated into the redeveloped South Square somehow, even if a completely new store was included alongside Target and Sams. I think I'll always wonder though, why didn't they abandon South Square immediately when Belk and JCPenney did....Same thing with University Mall, I wonder if both Belk and Dillards had left if it would have remained a mall or been reinvented somehow. I recall a period of uncertainty when the mall owners were searching for a new anchor. Maybe Dillards saved that mall.

Anyway if any1 has any insight to the above, or comments feel free to respond