Eastland Mall Redevelopment

[fulcrumsf]

^^Isn't there already a new Burlington Coat Factory there now??

[DigitalSky]

yeah. What I meant was the other stores will join BCF as the anchors.

[monsoon]

Yes, but that was 1979. This is 2006... different era.

Please forgive..... I had absolutely no idea that it was already 2006.

[NCMike1981]

^LOL

[StevenRocks]

Please forgive..... I had absolutely no idea that it was already 2006.

I think what cantnot meant is that Sears isn't the customer draw that it was in 1979. Sears still has a following, but it's not like mall developers are clamoring for a location like they did back in the day.

[DigitalSky]

I think what cantnot meant is that Sears isn't the customer draw that it was in 1979. Sears still has a following, but it's not like mall developers are clamoring for a location like they did back in the day.

Yeah that's what I meant. Sorry for not clarifying myself.

[monsoon]

I think what cantnot meant is that Sears isn't the customer draw that it was in 1979. Sears still has a following, but it's not like mall developers are clamoring for a location like they did back in the day.

I would hope that Sears would like to grow back to being a place where the middle class shops. They are not going to do that at Eastland Mall.

[StevenRocks]

I would hope that Sears would like to grow back to being a place where the middle class shops. They are not going to do that at Eastland Mall.

Ideally, Sears does want to be store of Middle America again, but the sad irony is that their best stores sales-wise are in urban areas. That's not to say that Sears will stay at Eastland, but their sales at Eastland were better than the SouthPark store, and Sears tends to be the only anchor tenant left at many dead or dying malls in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Setting aside Eastland for a second, Sears lost their retail leadership due to a failure to adapt to retail trends in a timely manner. When its customers wanted fashion in the '80s, it reluctantly and half-heartedly responded in the '90s, just as its customers wanted cheaper prices and fashion basics, which they reluctantly and half-heartedly gave them in the early '00s when their customers wanted a more specialized store environment and more stylish merchandise. At this rate Sears will meet their customer needs of 2006 somewhere around 2011.

I could go on about Sears, but I digress.

Sears Eastland Mall looks really awful but it's the only store in that mall that hasn't downgraded over the years. It may not be the market they're chasing, but it's looking like a bright light in Sears' otherwise cloudy future.

[otherstream]

Sears Eastland Mall looks really awful but it's the only store in that mall that hasn't downgraded over the years. It may not be the market they're chasing, but it's looking like a bright light in Sears' otherwise cloudy future.

I can't agree 100% that they haven't downgraded at Eastland, though. The physical condition of the store is OK, but every time I've been there since moving back to Charlotte in June, there hasn't been any merchandise in there. It's really sparse; you could turn cartwheels in the men's department. They seem to have just about enough stuff in there to fill up maybe 60-70% of the available square footage, but it's spread out over the whole store, giving each item plenty of, ummm, breathing room.

In this particular case, the store might actually look better if they'd partition off some of the space.

Edited January 31, 2006 by otherstream

[StevenRocks]

Okay maybe not 100%. There is a lack of the higher-end electronics and appliances that the Carolina Place store carries, but I mostly take that as a typical Sears merchandise distinction. The higher priced merchadise follows the money, and I know of at least a few Sears stores with average sales that don't have a lot of the nicer stuff (Sears Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh is a good example of this)

As much as I love Sears, I spend little time and money in the apparel departments. I don't have the patience to wait any longer for Sears to put in some cool clothes. They've promised them for years, and they never seem to deliver, so I've focused my attention elsewhere in the store and buy my clothes somewhere else. I think a lot of people have done this, and Sears continues to fall into obscurity because of this.

[DigitalSky]

^so much for the "softer side" of Sears, lol.

[StevenRocks]

^so much for the "softer side" of Sears, lol.

They've even let Kohl's kick their behinds! Friggin' KOHL'S!

[mallguy]

Eastland directory from 2002, available via http://web.archive.org; still lists the JC Penney Outlet on the mallmanac diagram:

Anchors and Major Stores

Belk

Dillard's

Sears

Apparel

Aeropostale

American Eagle

Ashley Stewart

After Hours FormalWear

Body Shop

Children's Place

Detour

Express

Fashion.com

Gingiss Formal Wear

Harold Pener's Man of Fashion

Lane Bryant

Lerner New York

Limited

Limited Too

Lim's Menswear

Milano Menswear

Rave

SIS Collection

Structure

Style Setter

Tantrum

Tantrum Signature

Victoria's Secret

Vilanto Menswear

Books, Cards, Gifts and Toys

AA Art & Gifts

Accents n' Gifts

Day by Day Calendars

Dynasty International

Hallmark Gold Crown Store

Kay Bee Toys

Papers & Paperbacks

Spencer's Gifts

Things Remembered

Waldenbooks

Customer Service

Guest Services

Mall Office

Electronic Specialty

Cebo Technology Communications- Nextel

Dell Computers

Electronics Boutique

Radio Shack

Wireless Shop

Wireless, Etc.

Wireless.Com

Food

A Different Twist

Bourbon Street Grille

Charley's Steakery

Chick-Fil-A

Chocolate Express

Cinnabon

Dairy Queen/Orange Julius Coming Soon...

Gadzooks

Great American Cookie

Great Wall Express

Harris Teeter

Hickory Farms

Le Cafe and Juice

Momotaro Japanese Restaurant

Sbarro's

Showmar's

General Merchandise

Dollar Tree

Originals

Wilsons Leather

Health and Beauty

Bath & Body Works

General Nutrition Co.

Hair Cuttery Salon

Lee Nails

Nature's RX

Premier Barbershop Coming Soon...

Regis Hairstylists

Victoria's Beauty

Vitamin World

Home Furnishings

Ada Gifts

Bombay Company

Brass Accents

Kirkland's

Jewelry and Accessories

All Tied Up!

Argento

Claire's Boutique

Crown Jewelers

Essentials

Friedman's Jewelry

Gold Italia

Kay Jewelers

Marks & Morgan

New York Jewelry

Reed's Jewelers

Silver Time

Sunglass Hut

Whitehall Jewelers

You Name It

Music, Video and Entertainment

El Cine

Hollywood Video

Ice House

Mindboggle Video Arcade

Turtles Music Coming Soon...

Services

Beauty Unlimited

Blue Kiss Photo

Consumer Pulse

Firestone

Flower Hut

Foxy Nails

Fresh Air

Jazzercise

Lenscrafters

Quick Fix

Realty Place

Time Warner Cable

Shoes

Burlington Shoes

Fino

Journey's

Payless Shoe Source

Shoe Department

Sports and Fitness

Champs Sports

Finish Line

Footaction USA

Footlocker

Kids Footlocker

Lady Footlocker

Sports Fan Attic

[DigitalSky]

changing fast!

[MZT]

Eastland should change the sun logo to a sneaker.

[NCMike1981]

wow the mall seemed to be actually healthy on paper in 2002...

[DigitalSky]

Yup. One could argue that once JC Penney tacked 'Outlet' onto their name was the official fall off looking healthy

Edited February 15, 2006 by cantnot

[mallguy]

Curious as to why JC Penney was the first anchor to leave the mall? Seems as if Penney's and Sears would be the better anchors for that mall's demographics, and that Dillard's and Belk's would be the worse ones.

[DigitalSky]

Ask Steven about JC Penney and "white flight"

[NCMike1981]

I'm assuming Belk is hanging on, in part due to loyalty issues...

[DigitalSky]

I'm assuming Belk is hanging on, in part due to loyalty issues...

Here's the skinny on Belk.

From the Charlotte Business Journal 10/25/2002 http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stori...28/tidbits.html

The new eastside store would lead Belk to close its Eastland Mall location, he says. "The culture and the demographics have changed since we opened there," Belk says. "Eastland is going down."

From the Charlotte Observer, which was published the next day after the Bizjournal article 10/26/2002

What about Eastland?

Belk might be exploring building a new department store in eastern Mecklenburg County. But a report that its store at Eastland Mall would close is premature, Belk CEO John Belk said Friday.

Belk is one of three remaining anchor stores at Eastland Mall, which lost its J.C. Penney outlet anchor over the summer

John Belk said his company owns the store's space at Eastland, which means it would be difficult to leave it. "If we closed, who would buy it?" he said.

Reports Friday said Belk is considering a shopping center proposed at the interchange of Interstate 485 and Lawyers Road in Mint Hill; rival Dillard's is reportedly eyeing another project being planned at Idlewild Road and I-485.

John Belk said no decision on a new location has been made.

Eastland management officials said Belk had not contacted them about any changes. "We see Belk at Eastland as being a viable player," said Kevin McCluskey, the general manager.

Now, keep in mind all this was before The Bridges at Mint Hill was officially announced/confirmed by Belk.

And now that the road is being widened for the mall (Link) and that this mall will be built, the future of Belk Eastland is very questionable, and most likely will close when the Bridges at Mint Hill store opens.

[mallguy]

Even though I don't shop at Eastland, except for getting a few good deals at that Dillard's Clearance Center, I sure hope that mall lasts- I do not want gang fights and the like spreading to SouthPark or Northlake or, worse, uptown. Where will those people hang out if Eastland is gone? Strip malls in east Charlotte aren't as conducive to hanging out as an enclosed mall is.

[StevenRocks]

Eastland should change the sun logo to a sneaker.

That's one of the big reasons I go out there actually. One of my friends is bigger sneakerhead than I am and he postively adores the place. The sneaker selection is off the hook.

But I'm a regional shopper. and a rounded selection of stores isn't as important to me. If that was my local mall, I'd be upset.

Ask Steven about JC Penney and "white flight"

I went into detail about it on the Village of Sandhill thread in the Columbia forum

Even though I don't shop at Eastland, except for getting a few good deals at that Dillard's Clearance Center, I sure hope that mall lasts- I do not want gang fights and the like spreading to SouthPark or Northlake or, worse, uptown. Where will those people hang out if Eastland is gone? Strip malls in east Charlotte aren't as conducive to hanging out as an enclosed mall is.

I agree. Edited February 17, 2006 by StevenRocks

[dubone]

I was looking through Charlotte's land use plans (the centers, corridors, and wedges plan). Eastland Mall area is the only "center" in easter Charlotte. The city is also basing a lot of transit operations at the mall area, with plans for streetcar and a bus transportation center. http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.ph...ndpost&p=269070

My question is Eastland seems like the place to attract suburban office complexes to the east side. It seems to me that SouthPark survived in part because of its large employment base nearby. Obviously it is more complicated that this, but it seems to me that Eastland could build a few office buildings, take advantage of the underused parking, and start converting the mall into a mixed use complex.

If Belk owns the land and is going to vacate when the Bridges are built, maybe the Belk could just be redeveloped into a 5 or 6 story office building.

Do you experts know of anywhere else this has happened, or if it makes sense?

[StevenRocks]

It does make sense, but I'm not sure if any offices would want to locate in that neighborhood. The press has done a bang-up job of convincing people the area is unsafe.