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Eastland Mall (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Encyclopedia
Eastland Mall was a shopping mall
in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center opened in 1975 as the then-largest mall in North Carolina
with three anchor department stores, Belk
, J.C. Penney
and Ivey's
, and a Sears
store joined four years later. Burlington Coat Factory
, the mall's final anchor, has closed, leaving all anchors vacant. The mall was owned by Glimcher Realty Trust
and the City of Charlotte. Glimcher requested the mall be put into receivership
due to heavy debt, and there have been reports of the mall entering foreclosure. LNR sold the interior space in the mall to Boxer Properties of Houston for $2 million. It has ceased operations as of June 30, 2010 but a new owner plans to reopen the mall by late 2011. While closed the property owner is still expected to keep the mall secure, safe and tended to as required by city ordinance.
The Eastland Community Transit Center, a planned stop on the LYNX Rapid Transit Services
Center City Corridor
, is located in the parking lot at the mall.
about six miles (10 km) away. Henry Faison, the developer, recalls planning the mall with a team of only six people. In 1975, Eastland Mall opened to much fanfare as the biggest mall in North Carolina
at that time (superseded shortly after by Hanes Mall
). Eastland Mall had a skating rink and the first food court in North Carolina. Additionally, the mall included an outparcel convenience center with a Harris Teeter
grocery store.
Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Eastland was considered by many to be the finest mall in Charlotte. Miller & Rhoads
joined as a junior anchor, and when Sears was added in 1979, the mall had four anchor stores (SouthPark only had three), but that was soon to change. SouthPark expanded and began an upscale trend, and with the opening of the mid-market Carolina Place Mall
in the early 1990s a suburban retail shift was occurring. Also in the early 1990s, Ivey's became Dillard's
and the store expanded, and the mall's interior was renovated and updated as well.
Mall and city officials cite that it is "a perception of crime" that has scared patrons away as opposed to actual crime happening every day.
, which left in 2002, a few years after becoming a J.C. Penney Outlet store. In 2004, the anchor space was split up and a Burlington Coat Factory
store took the upper level, while the bottom space was subdivided between a Fred's discount store and Prime Time store. Dillard's closed off one level of their store in 2005, and operated a Dillard's Outlet on the other level.
The Harris Teeter
store on the periphery closed on June 26, 2006, after being in operation since 1975. The store cited underperformance as the cause for its closure; however, changing demographics and lack of investment in remodeling may have contributed to this store's demise.
Belk closed in 2007, becoming the third anchor to leave the mall. Following Belk's departure, Limited Brands
closed all five of their stores inside the mall, which included Bath & Body Works, The Limited and Victoria's Secret. Fred's and Prime Time closed as well, followed by the Dillard's Outlet and movie theater in late 2008.
These retail changes have been accompanied by a degradation of the mall's physical appearance, which has deteriorated to the point that its owner, Glimcher Realty Trust, labeled the mall a "fixer-upper". The mall's deterioration has been mirrored in its surrounding area, labeled "corridors of crap" by Charlotte's then-current mayor due to its inexpensive and aging retail structures.
On February 26, 2009 Sears Holdings Corporation
announced that the Sears store at Eastland would close on May 31, another major blow to the beleaguered mall. This left the city of Charlotte without a Sears store inside its city limits., however there is one at Carolina Place Mall
in Pineville, a town bordered by Charlotte on three sides.
On February 27, 2010, Burlington Coat Factory
, the mall's sole remaining anchor, announced that it would be departing the struggling mall on March 20 due to "ownership questions, lack of customer traffic, and weak sales." The mall no longer has any anchor stores.
church
took up residence in the mall's long shuttered theater. Renovatus, which calls itself "A Church for people under renovation", hoped to help reverse the decline in fortunes of the mall and it's surrounding area, and clear Eastland of the violent, dangerous stigma that surrounds it. However, with the mall's closure, the church vacated its space.
The church has since merged with an existing congregation, Central at Little Rock Church of God. The united congregation, called Renovatus church, has permanently moved to 1209 Little Rock Rd. Charlotte, North Carolinaand also holds weekly services in the former PTL Television Network studios at the old Heritage USA
complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
On March 8, 2007, the Urban Land Institute
Advisory Council shared its recommendations: to tear the mall down and make it into a vibrant community center with mixed-use shopping and an amusement park. Full report of ULI's findings.
The City of Charlotte had acquired an option to buy the vacant Dillard's anchor space, and rumors allege that Glimcher may walk away from the portion of the mall that it controls rather than pay an upcoming mortgage payment on the Eastland $42 million mortgage.
In an earnings press release dated July 23, 2008, Glimcher Realty Trust announced that it "will not fund any further cash deficits at the property." The company also requested court-appointed receivership and liquidation for the property.
In February 2009, the former Ice House ice skating rink, which had been closed the previous year, was replaced with a soccer field. For a mall that had received a brunt of negativity, this is one major positive for Eastland. Like the rest of the mall, however, the soccer field closed.
In September 2009, the mall's owner said that if the city of Charlotte did not purchase the mall, it would be shuttered. The council decided against that on November 2006. However, as of February 2010, the mall stated that it was still leasing space and does not plan to close.
On April 16, 2010, tenants were notified that they must vacate by June 30, 2010 because a foreclosure action was filed against the mall. According to letters sent to tenants "it is understood that the lender or any other party that acquires title to Eastland Mall at foreclosure will close the mall."
On June 28, 2010, ownership of the inner stores, parking lot and a few of the smaller outside buildings surrounding Eastland Mall were transferred to Boxer Properties according to a deed filed in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on that date. The fate of the anchor stores however hang in the balance. Boxer is expected to bring in retail and small-office tenants that fit with the diverse nature of Charlotte's east side, similar to the company's redevelopment of La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas, with a planned reopening of the mall by Christmas 2011.
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center opened in 1975 as the then-largest mall in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
with three anchor department stores, Belk
Belk
Belk is a department store chain founded in 1888 in Monroe, North Carolina, today part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. After the founding of the first Belk store, the company grew in size and influence throughout the South via the chain in the USA, with its stores primarily located in the...
, J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
and Ivey's
Ivey's
Ivey's , a former department store chain, was acquired by Dillard's, Inc. in 1990. Ivey's was based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was founded in 1900 by Joseph Benjamin Ivey.-History:...
, and a Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
store joined four years later. Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation is a national department store retailer focusing on clothing and shoes, with over 450 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico.. In 2006, it was acquired by Bain Capital, LLC in a take-private transaction...
, the mall's final anchor, has closed, leaving all anchors vacant. The mall was owned by Glimcher Realty Trust
Glimcher Realty Trust
Glimcher Realty Trust is a Columbus, Ohio based real estate investment trust. The company specializes in the development and management of regional malls and shopping centers. As of 2009, the company's properties consisted of 23 malls , and three community centers...
and the City of Charlotte. Glimcher requested the mall be put into receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
due to heavy debt, and there have been reports of the mall entering foreclosure. LNR sold the interior space in the mall to Boxer Properties of Houston for $2 million. It has ceased operations as of June 30, 2010 but a new owner plans to reopen the mall by late 2011. While closed the property owner is still expected to keep the mall secure, safe and tended to as required by city ordinance.
The Eastland Community Transit Center, a planned stop on the LYNX Rapid Transit Services
LYNX Rapid Transit Services
Lynx Rapid Transit Services comprises a light rail line serviced by the Charlotte Area Transit System in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States...
Center City Corridor
Center City Corridor (LYNX)
The Center City Corridor is a proposed streetcar line, to be completed in 2018, which would serve as an extension to Charlotte, North Carolina's LYNX transportation network...
, is located in the parking lot at the mall.
History
Development began on a shopping center in east Charlotte in the early 1970s after seeing the success of SouthPark MallSouthPark Mall (Charlotte, North Carolina)
SouthPark Mall is an upscale shopping mall located in Charlotte, North Carolina. With , SouthPark Mall is the largest mall in Charlotte and the Carolinas. It is the 10th largest on the East Coast and is the 28th largest in the United States. The area around SouthPark Mall is the most congested...
about six miles (10 km) away. Henry Faison, the developer, recalls planning the mall with a team of only six people. In 1975, Eastland Mall opened to much fanfare as the biggest mall in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
at that time (superseded shortly after by Hanes Mall
Hanes Mall
Hanes Mall is a shopping mall located off I-40 on Silas Creek Parkway between Stratford Road and Hanes Mall Boulevard in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...
). Eastland Mall had a skating rink and the first food court in North Carolina. Additionally, the mall included an outparcel convenience center with a Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter is a chain of supermarkets based in Matthews, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte. , the chain operates 207 stores in eight Southern states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.Harris Teeter is a...
grocery store.
Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Eastland was considered by many to be the finest mall in Charlotte. Miller & Rhoads
Miller & Rhoads
Miller & Rhoads was a Virginia-based department store chain. Throughout its 105 year life-span, the store played an active role in the Richmond community, along with its friendly cross-street rival Thalhimers.- Origins :...
joined as a junior anchor, and when Sears was added in 1979, the mall had four anchor stores (SouthPark only had three), but that was soon to change. SouthPark expanded and began an upscale trend, and with the opening of the mid-market Carolina Place Mall
Carolina Place Mall
Carolina Place Mall is a shopping mall located in Pineville, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. The mall is anchored by Sears, Belk, JCPenney, Dillard's, and Macy's.-History:...
in the early 1990s a suburban retail shift was occurring. Also in the early 1990s, Ivey's became Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
and the store expanded, and the mall's interior was renovated and updated as well.
Demographic changes
By the late 1990s, Eastland Mall's image and physical appearance began to degrade. Adding to the retail shift in Charlotte, demographic changes and ethnic shifts to the surrounding areas have changed the retail makeup of the mall. Crime rates also increased around the mall. In late 2005 there was a shooting inside the mall near the Gourmet Gardens food court and also a shooting outside in the parking lot. Another shooting took place in 2006 near the food court. A bullet smashed one of the glass doors and one person was shot.Mall and city officials cite that it is "a perception of crime" that has scared patrons away as opposed to actual crime happening every day.
Retail changes
The first original anchor store to depart the mall was J.C. PenneyJ.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
, which left in 2002, a few years after becoming a J.C. Penney Outlet store. In 2004, the anchor space was split up and a Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation is a national department store retailer focusing on clothing and shoes, with over 450 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico.. In 2006, it was acquired by Bain Capital, LLC in a take-private transaction...
store took the upper level, while the bottom space was subdivided between a Fred's discount store and Prime Time store. Dillard's closed off one level of their store in 2005, and operated a Dillard's Outlet on the other level.
The Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter is a chain of supermarkets based in Matthews, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte. , the chain operates 207 stores in eight Southern states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.Harris Teeter is a...
store on the periphery closed on June 26, 2006, after being in operation since 1975. The store cited underperformance as the cause for its closure; however, changing demographics and lack of investment in remodeling may have contributed to this store's demise.
Belk closed in 2007, becoming the third anchor to leave the mall. Following Belk's departure, Limited Brands
Limited Brands
Limited Brands is an American apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2009 it reported 9.04 billion dollars in revenue for the last fiscal year.-History:...
closed all five of their stores inside the mall, which included Bath & Body Works, The Limited and Victoria's Secret. Fred's and Prime Time closed as well, followed by the Dillard's Outlet and movie theater in late 2008.
These retail changes have been accompanied by a degradation of the mall's physical appearance, which has deteriorated to the point that its owner, Glimcher Realty Trust, labeled the mall a "fixer-upper". The mall's deterioration has been mirrored in its surrounding area, labeled "corridors of crap" by Charlotte's then-current mayor due to its inexpensive and aging retail structures.
On February 26, 2009 Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation is a retail conglomerate formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co., of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Kmart Holdings Corporation, of Troy, Michigan...
announced that the Sears store at Eastland would close on May 31, another major blow to the beleaguered mall. This left the city of Charlotte without a Sears store inside its city limits., however there is one at Carolina Place Mall
Carolina Place Mall
Carolina Place Mall is a shopping mall located in Pineville, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. The mall is anchored by Sears, Belk, JCPenney, Dillard's, and Macy's.-History:...
in Pineville, a town bordered by Charlotte on three sides.
On February 27, 2010, Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation is a national department store retailer focusing on clothing and shoes, with over 450 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico.. In 2006, it was acquired by Bain Capital, LLC in a take-private transaction...
, the mall's sole remaining anchor, announced that it would be departing the struggling mall on March 20 due to "ownership questions, lack of customer traffic, and weak sales." The mall no longer has any anchor stores.
Renovatus
In October, 2009 Renovatus, a ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
church
Local church
A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...
took up residence in the mall's long shuttered theater. Renovatus, which calls itself "A Church for people under renovation", hoped to help reverse the decline in fortunes of the mall and it's surrounding area, and clear Eastland of the violent, dangerous stigma that surrounds it. However, with the mall's closure, the church vacated its space.
The church has since merged with an existing congregation, Central at Little Rock Church of God. The united congregation, called Renovatus church, has permanently moved to 1209 Little Rock Rd. Charlotte, North Carolinaand also holds weekly services in the former PTL Television Network studios at the old Heritage USA
Heritage USA
Heritage USA was a Christian theme park, water park, and residential complex built in Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA, by PTL Club founders televangelist Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner...
complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Future
One day after the announcement of Belk's departure, Eastland Mall officials announced the original movie theater showing first-run films would reopen after closing in 1996. It had reopened in the last few years but was only specializing in foreign language films and 'G' and 'PG' rated films.On March 8, 2007, the Urban Land Institute
Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...
Advisory Council shared its recommendations: to tear the mall down and make it into a vibrant community center with mixed-use shopping and an amusement park. Full report of ULI's findings.
The City of Charlotte had acquired an option to buy the vacant Dillard's anchor space, and rumors allege that Glimcher may walk away from the portion of the mall that it controls rather than pay an upcoming mortgage payment on the Eastland $42 million mortgage.
In an earnings press release dated July 23, 2008, Glimcher Realty Trust announced that it "will not fund any further cash deficits at the property." The company also requested court-appointed receivership and liquidation for the property.
In February 2009, the former Ice House ice skating rink, which had been closed the previous year, was replaced with a soccer field. For a mall that had received a brunt of negativity, this is one major positive for Eastland. Like the rest of the mall, however, the soccer field closed.
In September 2009, the mall's owner said that if the city of Charlotte did not purchase the mall, it would be shuttered. The council decided against that on November 2006. However, as of February 2010, the mall stated that it was still leasing space and does not plan to close.
On April 16, 2010, tenants were notified that they must vacate by June 30, 2010 because a foreclosure action was filed against the mall. According to letters sent to tenants "it is understood that the lender or any other party that acquires title to Eastland Mall at foreclosure will close the mall."
On June 28, 2010, ownership of the inner stores, parking lot and a few of the smaller outside buildings surrounding Eastland Mall were transferred to Boxer Properties according to a deed filed in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on that date. The fate of the anchor stores however hang in the balance. Boxer is expected to bring in retail and small-office tenants that fit with the diverse nature of Charlotte's east side, similar to the company's redevelopment of La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas, with a planned reopening of the mall by Christmas 2011.