We told you last year about the project finally coming to the previous home of Eastland Mall on Charlotte’s east side at the intersection of Central Avenue and Albemarle Road. This was when Charlotte FC pulled out of the project. We also told you about it in 2020 when Charlotte FC initially planned a practice facility on the site. Though there have been many iterations of the plans for the site, this new project, Eastland Yards appears to finally be moving forward.
Charlotte City Council was reviewing three proposals for the site and has granted an additional 60 days to review these proposals or entertain additional proposals before they make their final decision. The question is why has this site taken so long to finally be developed and will it finally be a showplace for this growing community?
The mall opened in July of 1975 and was unique because it had an ice skating rink inside. After a long decline resulting in the closure of the anchor stores, and grocery store, the city purchased the 69-acre site. The mall was demolished in 2013 and then housed the Eastland Community Transit Center in the parking lot. The site is located in the heart of East Charlotte with Central Avenue, Albemarle Road and North Sharon Amity Roads as the boundaries.
This new development has been a long time coming as there have been a few plans over the years that have not come to fruition. The demographics of the area and rising crime rate were some of the reasons for the closure in the first place, but as prices of homes close to the city have risen, the area around Eastland Mall has become more attractive and the empty site has come back into focus as prime for redevelopment.
There are over 20 acres of the project with three proposals under consideration for their use. Crosland Southeast is the developer on the project. These 20 acres are where the Charlotte FC practice facility was supposed to sit. The three proposals for this parcel are as follows:
- Racquet Sports and Entertainment District – 80 plus public courts for tennis, pickleball, and padel. Training spaces, tournament capability, office spaces, an event lawn, and parking deck.
- Aquatics Center – One or possibly two 50-meter by 25-yard competition pools and 8-lane 25-yard program pools, diving platforms, and up for 2,500 spectator seats.
- A Target store – A 148,000 square foot retail store funded by the company.
Two of the three proposals want a mixture of taxpayer funding and private funding, but the Target store could bring much more traffic to the site which could help the other portions of Eastland Yards. These have to be approved by Charlotte City Council before they choose the winning design. Other sections of the project are already under construction with ground breaking this past August. There were about 18 months of site work, infrastructure, and utility work before they broke ground on the buildings.
After the 60-day review of proposals, City Council should make their decision as to the highest and best use of the land in question. The proposals that take taxpayer funding and additional funding may take a while to start construction as they will need to raise funds first. The Target store could come much quicker if that is the choice.
