1108 replies to this topic

[lupitachica]

Quote

Coming from the North you may not have noticed it yet, but you will, there is more of a racial divide down here still. It's not overt, but subtle.

I don't think its subtle at all but that's a topic for another discussion. Charlotte is not a very diverse place generally, imo, and not just racially.

Anyway, if a man was shot in the Mall, I can see how the perception of it as a "dangerous" place came to be. Crime like the ATM scam or the rape, unfortunately those things happen anywhere. I mean a woman got raped in Macy's in NY but it hasn't stop shoppers from using the store.

Part of the issue with Eastland I believe is that its a teenagers "hangout" spot which is always a breeding ground for trouble regardless of race/class. Southpark Mall, for example, does not cater to a young crowd in terms of retail operations or general atmosphere. Additionally, the general appearance of the mall gives the impression that its vulnerable, open for chaos, uncared for which encourages a nonchalant attitude on the part of the consumer. As someone new to Charlotte who didn't know the history of the mall, I was turned off by the what I felt was blatant disrespect for me as a consumer in terms of presentation. Update the facade, scrub the hallways & floors, etc. I would also continue to shop at Eastland if the selection were better at the department stores.

[Temeteron]

Dillard's is closing.....Dr. Stanton from Johnson & Wales said it, sorry I dont have any other resource, I hop someone else can find one

[DigitalSky]

Well I can't say no one saw it coming. Ok, let's see who'll be next... Belk or Harris Teeter.

[ngp]

lupitachica, on Oct 26 2005, 09:10 AM, said:

Part of the issue with Eastland I believe is that its a teenagers "hangout" spot which is always a breeding ground for trouble regardless of race/class.

Yup. My wife has gone to Eastland several times and hasn't had any problems. She just leaves before the evening rush of rowdy teens swarm the place. The typical Eastland Mall shopper wouldn't hurt a fly, they're just there to spend some of their hard-earned money.

The only problem I've ever had at the place was from a hateful newstand owner who freaked out when he saw me flip through a magazine. I just sat the stack of stuff I was planning to buy beside the register and walked out. Ass.

[StevenRocks]

cantnot, on Oct 26 2005, 10:14 AM, said:

Well I can't say no one saw it coming. Ok, let's see who'll be next... Belk or Harris Teeter.

Probably HT, Belk claims they're holding on until Mint Hill opens. We'll see.

Like I've said before, if people don't like what they see at Eastland and want it to fail, just wait. It will spread out to Northlake, SouthPark and Mint Hill as quickly as the buses will take it there. You can't eliminate these issues by running away from them.

Edited by StevenRocks, 26 October 2005 - 01:41 PM.

[nyxmike]

StevenRocks, on Oct 26 2005, 01:38 PM, said:

Probably HT, Belk claims they're holding on until Mint Hill opens. We'll see.

Like I've said before, if people don't like what they see at Eastland and want it to fail, just wait. It will spread out to Northlake, SouthPark and Mint Hill as quickly as the buses will take it there. You can't eliminate these issues by running away from them.

I was thinking that too, but, I'm a little more optimistic. If Eastland ever got really bad (like all its anchors left and it was pretty much abandoned), aren't there plans to convert it to a lifestyle/town center?

[StevenRocks]

The mall is in the process of changing ownership, so there's no telling what's planned. My hope is that it will be redeveloped if and when the anchors leave.

[DigitalSky]

I hope so... but in the back of my mind in reality i'm thinking that won't be the case and the new owners might not give a rat's arse

[StevenRocks]

Something will happen on that site, that's for sure. For one thing Burlington and Fred's just moved in, and buying out a 10-20 year lease just to tear the building down could get prohibitively expensive.

[Version70-8]

ngp, on Oct 26 2005, 10:31 AM, said:

Yup. My wife has gone to Eastland several times and hasn't had any problems. She just leaves before the evening rush of rowdy teens swarm the place. The typical Eastland Mall shopper wouldn't hurt a fly, they're just there to spend some of their hard-earned money.

The only problem I've ever had at the place was from a hateful newstand owner who freaked out when he saw me flip through a magazine. I just sat the stack of stuff I was planning to buy beside the register and walked out. Ass.

LOLOL...When I worked at Eastland I had to use the fax machine at that newstand quite often and it took forever for the owner to loosen up even with me, heck, I would be in there almost daily! He always acted as if everyone was going to rip him off and try to flee with a freaking magazine?

I was the Store Sales Manager up at the Limited for a few months and without a doubt, out of all of the malls in Charlotte plus others in SC that I worked at, Eastland was the most fun for me! Now, I am a white male who was 23 at the time so tons of people did a double take when they came in, but I am open-minded and try to be a fair guy, so I never had an issue with my all-female, all-African American staff of 10 or so. Once they saw that I would treat everyone respectfully, staff and customers alike, the store did a 360 and we rocked.

The mall is definitely not the prettiest or newest, but I met a lot of genuinely honest, caring people who were like me and were there to do our job, work extremely hard at it and try to reverse some of the false impressions that the city has of the mall and the area!

[StevenRocks]

Thanks for posting that. Version70-8. More good stories need to come from that side of town.

[DigitalSky]

I drove by Eastland today.. it does seem to get a little disheartening to look it every new time i see it. Part of it does seem like its frozen in time and part of it is trying to find an identity... The place was packed though, which was good for a weekday afteroon.

[SmellyCat]

lupitachica, on Oct 25 2005, 05:05 PM, said:

I did see that the Belks had terrible clothing and I blame the store's buyer and the directive he/she was given for that. Many of the people who shop at Eastland, I suspect, go elsewhere when they want a wider variety of choices.

The buying power of the African American consumer is phenomenal and I'd love to know how much money the stores in Eastland make in comparison to their counterparts taking into consideration size, consumer traffic, etc. The mall seems busy yet clearly not well taken care of. Why?

Glimcher, who generally operates C/C- malls, is the mall owner. As was previously discussed in this thread, Glimcher disclosed during their prior earnings call that it has put the mall up for sale at a fairly low price. The inline store sales are apparently not very good and the mall as a whole is not generating nearly the return the company had anticipated when it bought it several years back, so it's basically throwing in the towel. Seeing General Growth's the Bridges at Mint Hill on the horizon, Glimcher probably realizes that would be the death knell for Eastland, may it R.I.P.

[SmellyCat]

lupitachica, on Oct 25 2005, 05:05 PM, said:

I'm trying to figure out the basis for the "dangerous" label being given to Eastland. I'm thinking I'm uninformed about recent goings on in the Mall that have left the general population feeling unsafe. Was there a slew of robberies of shoppers or something like that prior to my arrival?

As they say, reputations are hard to shed whether warranted or not. When I first moved here I heard lots of local TV reports about teenage gang activity at the mall and how the police were constantly being called there. When I asked a friend of mine if she ever went there, she told me she had her car broken into while in the parking lot. That was enough info for me.

If you want to know how long the mall has been unsafe for, well here's a story I found from the CBJ in 1997:

Eastland Sued Over Crime

Edited by SmellyCat, 28 October 2005 - 07:42 PM.

[DigitalSky]

Guys, this is freaky. I was reading the latest ammendment to Wikipedia's Eastland entry and it says this about the Sunshine Logo

Quote

Some locals have noted similarities between the Eastland Mall logo and the sun god deity worshipped by the neo-pagan residents of Summerisle in the cult classic film, The Wicker Man, and the symbolic Green Man of pagan origin. Although the connection is probably superficial, it has lead to the development of several local urban legends.

http://en.wikipedia....i/Eastland_Mall

[NCMike1981]

omg! lol

[MZT]

What if Glimcher can't sell it before Bridges opens? As the anchors leave, Glimcher may offer the mall at a fire sale price. It will be very very hard to draw new tenant commitments while the future of the mall is in doubt. Any commercial buyer interested in the mall in its current form, will subtract the income lost from vacancies and deferred maintenance/updates, from their offer.

Edited by MZT, 30 October 2005 - 07:58 AM.

[StevenRocks]

If Eastland gets caught in limbo like that, it will be a shame. But I could see that happening. North Hills in Raleigh nearly died while the the property was in the process of being sold and renovated. That's how they lost Dillard's. Nobody was willing to move forward together on the project.

[csedwards72]

From the Eastland Mall website:

New stores at Eastland:

Can Fix It - alterations while you wait…located on the lower level inside entrance B.
Cultural Designs – air brushing…located on the lower level outside Dillards
Sanchez Mexican Food – located in the food court across from Sbarro’s.

Stores coming soon:

Downtown Locker Room
Fame
Athlete’s Foot
Asmara Cuisine – East African food
AVON – your favorite Avon products
The Braidery – specializing in children’s hair.

Assuming these new tenants were told of any departing anchors, why would they (especially Athlete's Foot, a national chain) sign leases now? Admittedly, tenants apart from the Athlete's Foot are signs of a dying mall.

[StevenRocks]

The new tenants, aside from Downtown Locker Room and Athlete's Foot sound like short term leases. It's a tossup...

Edited by StevenRocks, 31 October 2005 - 01:19 PM.