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Eastland Mall Redevelopment

DigitalSky

By DigitalSky
in Charlotte

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StevenRocks City

StevenRocks

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I'd say Eastland started going downhill after Carolina Place started gaining momentum and SouthPark started going truly upscale, which would be around 1997 or so. You can kind of tell when you look at the store designs. Dillard's is stuck in 1995, Harris Teeter and Belk in 1989 and most of the other mall stores and Sears are mired in the late '90s.

Neither Carolina Place or SouthPark is really that close to Eastland, but since Charlotte is so car-centric, people drove out to the other malls when they had an alternative.

From what I can tell, the neighborhood itself has been getting more minority-oriented for at least two decades.

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KJHburg
KJHburg

I just reread the article about these tennis and swim center proposals and the Target.  I say don't do either the swimming or tennis and sell part of the land for a Target and use that land sale money

JRCLT
JRCLT

Kayman, I understand your advocacy, but I don’t like your tone toward KJ with how you’re trying to convey those valid important sentiments and issues with the black and brown community in that area.

lit
lit

At this rate, I feel like we're eventually going to circle back around and someone with a bunch of money will be like "this would be the perfect spot for a Mall"

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monsoon Gigalopolis

monsoon

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When did Eastland start to go downhill?

I remember Eastland's opening so I will give you my observations on what happened to it.

Eastland when built in 1975, was the largest, best known regional mall in the Carolinas and that area of east Charlotte was just starting to grow up. It was further expanded in 1979 went the downtown Sears closed and that wing of the mall opened along with the parking deck in the back. Eastland's heydays were in the late 70s & 80s where it pretty much put CharlotteTown Mall out of business and Southpark was looking as if were going to die as well.

Interestingly, it was the demographics of East Charlotte, which first made the mall very popular, that also killed it. During the mid to late 70s and early 80s inflation was very high with mortgage rates topping out somewhere close to 18%. Imagine trying to buy a house at those rates. The middle class moving to Charlotte in those days moved to east Charlotte because it was were affordable housing was being built. This was the period where much of east charlotte was built but because of inflation and mortgage rates, the houses there were very small, especially compared to today's standards. In the late 80s and 90s when the economy got much better, the middle class moved on to be replaced by a different set of demographics.

Along with this, Southeast Charlotte has always been pushed as the desirable part of Charlotte to live. When things got better, the middle class moved to this part of Charlotte and there were substantial investments made to upgrade SouthPark and it eventually replaced Eastland as the most desirable mall in the area.

It was this shift in population in Charlotte that killed Eastland. By 1995, it had taken on a perception of being an unsafe place to visit and its decline has gone one ever since. It's been that long since I have been inside Eastland for that reason (though I've been into Sears maybe once since then) and for the fact that I no longer live in East Charlotte myself and it is not a convenient place to go to. Regional malls like Eastland exist to serve the middle class, and the middle class does not go to Eastland anymore.

The building of Carolina Place is really incidental as it mainly serves a population that didn't exist when Eastland was built and oddly is kind of suffering a decline as well. (in terms of perception)

Edited by metro.m
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otherstream Whistle-Stop

otherstream

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Eastland when built in 1975, was the largest, best known regional mall in the Carolinas and that area of east Charlotte was just starting to grow up. It was further expanded in 1979 went the downtown Sears closed and that wing of the mall opened along with the parking deck in the back. Eastland's heydays were in the late 70s & 80s where it pretty much put CharlotteTown Mall out of business and Southpark was looking as if were going to die as well.

Pretty much right on the money. I managed a store across the street from Eastland from 1986-1989, and I sort of watched the momentum shift toward Southpark during that time.

I think the balance tipped right around 1986-1987, when Belk did a major remodeling and expansion at Southpark, making it the flagship store for the chain. Ivey's followed suit with its first big renovation since the mall opened. Both did some work on their Eastland stores a year or so later, but it was nothing compared to what was done at Southpark.

I'd transferred into the branch near Eastland from one in a dying mall in Greensboro (Carolina Circle), so I sort of recognized the signs early on. My store, which was placed to feed off Eastland's traffic, closed in 1990. The mall's decline is playing out pretty much as expected, although it's taking a bit longer than I thought it would...

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lupitachica Whistle-Stop

lupitachica

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Being new to Charlotte, I visited Eastland regularly enough in the past months. I never had an issue there, never felt unsafe, never encountered any rudeness or trouble from the patrons, never felt any way in particular except that the mall lacked higher end stores, variety, and was badly in need of a facelift. Being unaware of the mall's "reputation" I never felt uncomfortable at all in terms of safety and have not encountered any of the "scary" people some seem to meet when they go there.

Living not far from Eastland, I still believe the mall can work if it were renovated and altered a bit. That side of town needs a shopping center and Eastland can be convenient for quick items, etc. As I mentioned before, my man gets his hair cut there and has found a home there in terms of the classic barbershop experience. Some of its stores provides products that I wouldn't be able to buy in like Southpark and even if I could - I wouldn't want to go all the way there to get it. It also has an atmosphere that is sometimes more welcoming than Southpark. I went to Southpark to go to Tiffany's and have my jewelry cleaned and while the customer service at Tiffany's was outstanding, some of the staff in the other stores I visited were not helpful, seemed to attend to other customers before attending to me even though I was there first, and little things like that which I did not appreciate.

It will be interesting to see what happens as a result of this latest incident.

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dubone Megalopolis

dubone

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For a research paper a few years ago, my wife's students did a self-initiated experiment at SouthPark. They had minority students dress in preppy clothes, and white students dress in baggy clothes. The white students were served much more frequently, while the minority students were ignored. One minority kid was actually followed around the store, but wouldn't be helped (ie. they were making sure he didn't steal anything).

I'm sure that Eastland is a much more pleasant shopping experience for minorities, to avoid stuff like that.

I actually kind of like Eastland. The only problem is that it is like stepping into a time warp. All the stores use old store layouts and models and marketing. The materials are old-skool for malls. And there are really not many people that go.

I think if money were put into it, to renovate it, and potentially add an outdoor element to it, I think it would do quite well.

If it does fail, however, I wonder if it will mean better chances for departments stores showing up downtown, in an exact reversal of what happened 30 years ago.

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otherstream Whistle-Stop

otherstream

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I actually kind of like Eastland. The only problem is that it is like stepping into a time warp. All the stores use old store layouts and models and marketing. The materials are old-skool for malls. And there are really not many people that go.

I think if money were put into it, to renovate it, and potentially add an outdoor element to it, I think it would do quite well.

Quite possibly so, but I fear that investment won't be coming anytime soon. Eastland has been in the classic mall death cycle for fifteen years: demographics change >> patronage drops >> stores close or don't update >> patronage drops even more because of crummy stores >> rinse >> repeat.

I think there's a lot of potential for the site, with the right management. I don't think there's any real hope for the building as it stands now nor for its continued existance as a "traditional" regional mall with department stores, etc. Its sheer size and layout keep it from being very adaptable for less-intensive retail use. A big, empty (or underutilized) enclosed mall is not a pleasant place; it's amazing how claustrophobic all that space can feel.

What I could see there (ironically, given my earlier post) is a more entertainment-based facility with a theater and restaurants surrounding it and some stores on the periphery, although I'm not sure exactly what mix of stores.

I actually sort of like Eastland too, and I find Southpark a whole lot "scarier" than Eastland in many ways, but I'm not your average mall shopper either...

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csedwards72 Whistle-Stop

csedwards72

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What I could see there (ironically, given my earlier post) is a more entertainment-based facility with a theater and restaurants surrounding it and some stores on the periphery, although I'm not sure exactly what mix of stores.

I agree. Thanks to everyone who filled me in about the mall's decline. Maybe a Magic Johnson movie theater will come there. The mall always has seemed to still do a decent business, even though the sales per square foot are low. People in east Charlotte need a good place to shop and go to movies, etc., and I hope that they get that, especially as the market could support a mall geared towards that community.

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monsoon Gigalopolis

monsoon

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Indeed. The story in the paper today about this week's shooting said that fights amongst young males were quite common in the mall. It was in fact a fight between 5-12 males that led to this shooting. This can't be good for revival of the mall and I don't see anyone investing money in a place where this goes on.

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otherstream Whistle-Stop

otherstream

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Indeed. The story in the paper today about this week's shooting said that fights amongst young males were quite common in the mall. It was in fact a fight between 5-12 males that led to this shooting. This can't be good for revival of the mall and I don't see anyone investing money in a place where this goes on.

But you have to consider how much of the problem stems from that particular piece of real estate vs. how much of it stems from the (lack of) management of the complex that happens to be sitting on that land right now.

Is the corner of Central and Sharon-Amity doomed until the end of time for all new -- and potentially better-managed -- uses just because it's currently home to a dysfunctional mall? I hope not. That's a pretty big parcel to write off. That said, though, you're right that investors would probably be very leery right now, but a radically-different concpet for the parcel could work, I think...

Edited by otherstream
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csedwards72 Whistle-Stop

csedwards72

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I worry about that place. Having a mall start to fail that close to Uptown is a bad reflection on the city center.

Why? Uptown Charlotte, where I live and work, is very nice. None of my neighbors or co-workers, that I know, go to Eastland; the mall serves a different demographic than Uptown residents. People who live uptown drive up to Northlake or to SouthPark. Eastland and Uptown are two different worlds.

Edited by csedwards72
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monsoon Gigalopolis

monsoon

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Why? Uptown Charlotte, where I live and work, is very nice. None of my neighbors or co-workers, that I know, go to Eastland; the mall serves a different demographic than Uptown residents. People who live uptown drive up to Northlake or to SouthPark. Eastland and Uptown are two different worlds.

I think the implication is one the center city, with it's affluent residents, does not support the closest regional mall to downtown. They would, as you mention, drive out to more distant suburbs to shop.

i.e. Downtown is an emerald city surrounded by very trouble areas that continue to lose out in the economic game because the city and it's residents choose not to invest there anymore. Does anyone care, I don't know.

Edited by metro.m
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