Eastland Mall Redevelopment

[KJHburg]

drove by the Eastland site this morning.  the school is far distance is the CMS Steam magnet school I think and the school behind the QT is the Movement School closer in view to Central. 

[KJHburg]

Eastland update and full presentation

 

[KJHburg]

more from the Eastland rezoning hearing.

• A maximum of 1,050 residential units
• A minimum 2-acre public park
• A Main Street area with an emphasis on pedestrian-friendly features and unique design
• LED and electronic signs in and around the soccer training complex and fields
• Allowances for bubble dome field coverings and lighting and signs similar to the NFL practice bubble located uptown on Cedar Street

In all, the site in east Charlotte comprises 78 acres: 69 owned by the city and the rest controlled by other investors and under contract to Crosland Southeast, the master planner. Much of the current zoning dates to the mall’s development in the mid-1970s and needs to be updated.

Crosland and the city of Charlotte are the petitioners. Next Wednesday, they will answer questions from neighborhood advocates and other residents. Questions can be submitted until 5 p.m. on May 12 at [email protected].

A public hearing is scheduled May 18 with a final decision anticipated June 15.

[KJHburg]

site plan as proposed now from Crosland website

[QCxpat]

Today's CBJ - "Plans for former Eastland Mall site ... get OK from Charlotte City Council" by Ashley Fahey

Excerpt:  "Two major redevelopments took a big step forward on Monday after members of Charlotte City Council voted unanimously to approve both of them.  Rezonings were approved for the redevelopment of Atrium Health's midtown flagship campus and the former Eastland Mall property to accommodate, in both cases, substantial projects that would reimagine two key sites in midtown and east Charlotte."  ...  "The rezoning for Eastland includes 78 acres of mostly city-owned land at North Sharon Amity and Albemarle roads and Central Avenue.  It will accommodate a Major League Soccer headquarters and mixed-use development.  Plans call for up to 1,050 residential units and a range of commercial uses, such as retail, office, hotels, athletic fields and operations buildings, transit facilities and public parks.  Charlotte-based Crosland Southeast is leading the redevelopment along with the city and Tepper Sports & Entertainment."  ...   "During the Eastland Mall vote, council member Dimple Ajmera said the board has received many emails requesting a delay for the vote and expressing concerns about the future of Eastland's skateboard park, open-air market and other issues.  Discussions on those topics will continue, even after rezoning approval, Ajmera said.  "We do need to address economic opportunities in east Charlotte," she said, adding many residents must travel out of the district for work.  Council member Matt Newton, who represents the district that includes Eastland, said it was encouraging to see where the plan stands today."   "After this passes tonight, I'm really, really looking forward to what will become a very dynamic, wonderful development at the Eastland site," he said."

Eastland Mall - Photo credit: Melissa Key

 

CBJ Link:  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2020/06/16/eastland-mall-atrium-health-rezoning.html

[KJHburg]

finally I hope dirt starts moving on something soon like the housing as the housing will drive the retail.     (and the signs are still in storage in Charlotte and hope they reappear on the site somehow) 

[sakami]

Hmmm. Interested to hear what is going on with this  

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article246733296.html?ac_cid=DM309986&ac_bid=-1636602103

[Norm2]

2 hours ago, sakami said:

Hmmm. Interested to hear what is going on with this  

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article246733296.html?ac_cid=DM309986&ac_bid=-1636602103

I suspect the financial hit the hospitality tax is taking due to covid was a big influence on this decision. Who knows how long that will take to recover.....

[sclark]

Seems like it would make sense to consolidate training facilities for Panthers & Charlotte FC. in Rock Hill. Share dining/office/conference areas, etc.

 

[Hushpuppy321]

1 hour ago, sclark said:

Seems like it would make sense to consolidate training facilities for Panthers & Charlotte FC. in Rock Hill. Share dining/office/conference areas, etc.

 

True but this sucks not having either teams HQ in Charlotte/NC

[King of the Queen City]

It is also possible that the MLS team could use space vacated by the Panthers on the west side of the stadium along with the current bubble and practice fields, at least in the short term. With the financial commitment from the city for the MLS team I would be surprised if it is actually headquartered in Rock Hill (though some business will inevitably take place there due to overlap in management).

[hokiehigh]

10 hours ago, Hushpuppy321 said:

True but this sucks not having either teams HQ in Charlotte/NC

Agree.  Seems like Eastland gets the shaft again!  Maybe they can rework the proposal again?  I wonder if people are really going to be thrilled with an Elite Academy and and Atrium Health facility that both only employ 20-30/each.  I feel like we should be able to do better.

[js4life]

I would think the 11 practice fields open to the public & the ability to host tournaments etc provides more activity than a private practice facility.  Charlotte FC could put it's facility on the current practice fields at BOA with a stadium that could double as a outdoor concert facility 

[hokiehigh]

1 hour ago, js4life said:

I would think the 11 practice fields open to the public & the ability to host tournaments etc provides more activity than a private practice facility.  Charlotte FC could put it's facility on the current practice fields at BOA with a stadium that could double as a outdoor concert facility 

True.  I guess I was just hopeful for something bigger in that spot.   Should be a good get for Rock Hill though assuming the HQ/Training Facility goes there.

[Spartan]

Moving this thread back to the main CLT forum for obvious reasons.

I have to admit that I'm incredibly skeptical as to whether anything will actually happen on Eastland with MLS out of the picture. I've seen pretty renderings before.

[RANYC]

2 hours ago, hokiehigh said:

True.  I guess I was just hopeful for something bigger in that spot.   Should be a good get for Rock Hill though assuming the HQ/Training Facility goes there.

I don't follow Soccer much, but I would think that the most important venue for a professional sports team expansion is the stadium, IMO.  I can't say that I've ever cared about or asked about the HQ offices or personnel count when visiting a city ("hey, let's do a tour of the Accounting, Legal, and Compliance departments").  I was never quite clear on why people thought MLS expansion to Charlotte was going to be transformative for the Eastland Mall Site.  The place of play is in Uptown - all I care about, really.  Sure, die-hards might go check out practices, but I can't imagine that gathering throngs of people providing economic stimulus.  By the way, what's the expected headcount for the HQ of a newly-launching MLS franchise?  We talking dozens of jobs, hundreds of jobs, thousands?  Best thing they can do with Eastland site, is re-brand it, clean it up, re-grade it, get it ready for a brand new use with a totally new market perception.  That's what's happening and it's fine.  

Yes, the HQ will probably end up in Rock Hill.  I think it makes sense.  You're in a market on the border between states.  Together, the Carolinas as a consolidated pro-sports market is one of the biggest in the country served by just teams playing in just Charlotte.  Tepper is probably locking down a market of 15 million potential fans between the two states by putting evidence of his franchises in both places.  An old fashioned "Sports Straddle."  

[Madison Parkitect]

6 hours ago, RANYC said:

By the way, what's the expected headcount for the HQ of a newly-launching MLS franchise?  We talking dozens of jobs, hundreds of jobs, thousands?  Best thing they can do with Eastland site, is re-brand it, clean it up, re-grade it, get it ready for a brand new use with a totally new market perception.  That's what's happening and it's fine. 

Dozens of full-time staff if you're including all the coaches. I'd think probably between 100-200 if you're including all the part-time workers?

[King of the Queen City]

“While the Panthers negotiations are no longer part of Eastland, Charlotte Economic Development Director Tracy Dodson announced substantial progress over the Eastland site. That includes no longer having the Charlotte FC headquarters at Eastland in an effort to provide more public space at the property. Instead of the team headquarters, Dodson said that Tepper Sports would locate the youth academy at the property as well as practice fields that could host the MLS team and international squads coming to play in Charlotte.”

Source: WBTV

This seems to indicate that the MLS team does intend to use the Eastland site to some degree even if it is not the official HQ. Putting offices for the team at the stadium, Rock Hill, or elsewhere doesn’t mean that they won’t put the Eastland facility to use.

[Third Strike]

New site plan:

https://charlottenc.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=8876249&GUID=FF6585B2-D730-4391-B749-4D0BB9D7D1C4&fbclid=IwAR1ydmBrPZ7UvOgK957W2pAfyQDWRqjiPzQb8KPV_fCV_3lqL9PvAYETMLE

[Nathan2]

Any reason for why they need structured parking and surface parking? Seems like they should just stick to parking structures. Currently a quarter or more of the whole site is taken up by parking. 

[davidclt]

1 hour ago, Nathan2 said:

Any reason for why they need structured parking and surface parking? Seems like they should just stick to parking structures. Currently a quarter or more of the whole site is taken up by parking. 

I'm not clear why City of Charlotte allows any parking structures to be built any more? Why not require all buried or surface parking? (yes, I *know* $$$)

We as a city need to reconcile the cost of our car culture.

[Third Strike]

There’s a petition to save the skatepark in Eastland:

https://www.change.org/p/city-of-charlotte-save-eastland-diy-skatepark/psf/promote_or_share?recruiter=
 

It’s baffling that the city hasn’t really acknowledged this park nor try to integrate it into the overall site plan. Charlotte has been lacking in good skateparks for some time now, and the community has done a great job building this one from scratch. And as Nathan2 pointed out, this site has an abundance of surface parking. This is a better use of land than a sea of asphalt. 

[KJHburg]

good historical timeline of Eastland's rise and fall from Charlotte Magazine

A Look Inside the Past and Future of Eastland - Charlotte Magazine

[KJHburg]

Movement Charter school at Eastland site.  Sure wish the city would have not wasted time on things like a movie studio.  And for the life of me don't understand why affordable housing is not being done somewhere on this huge site.

 

[KJHburg]

This is the proposal for Eastland but why is the city having to contribute so much I thought they sold the land for cheap.  and why is the city subsidizing any market rate housing in this city? I would rather the city just get a enough to cover their costs of the land and demo of the mall.   From Twitter  Ely Portillo