Eastland Mall Redevelopment

[StevenRocks]

Eastland's going to do okay based on neighborhood shopping for at least a short while, but the dead appearance caused by the departed anchor stores can't help things.

[mallguy]

Glimcher is still planning to sell Eastland, according to press releases on its website. I'd have to think that Glimcher's statements about Eastland being an unprofitable "fixer-upper" are true, as surely Glimcher wouldn't want to sabotage the center's sales price. Yet I'd assume that rather than continuing to bleed money because of Eastland, Glimcher will finally just ditch it at a fire-sale price or, if no offers are received, abandon it.

Poor downtrodden shopping center. Even the lights on the sun logo in the back entrance near Lenscrafters are burned out.

[StevenRocks]

You never know, mallguy. Eastland could hold onto life long enough for the neighborhood to gentrify and get redeveloped like Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore. It struggled for years after the neighborhood demographics changed with only a G.C. Murphy as anchor, but recently got a major reinvestment deal announced with several new large stores.

Edited February 15, 2007 by StevenRocks

[JerseyBoy]

I wonder if we'll see the SouthSquare treatment here?

[DigitalSky]

I wonder if we'll see the SouthSquare treatment here?

I think this is a different situation from South Square. First of all, they do serve two different markets, and I just don't see anything like SuperTarget or Sam's Club coming to Eastland. I do more similarities with Carolina Circle and Eastland, but I don't think Wal-mart Supercenter will happen at Eastland Mall either.

[mallguy]

You never know, mallguy. Eastland could hold onto life long enough for the neighborhood to gentrify and get redeveloped like Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore. It struggled for years after the neighborhood demographics changed with only a G.C. Murphy as anchor, but recently got a major reinvestment deal announced with several new large stores.

Interesting- I had never heard of that mall. Perhaps there is hope! I just Googled it and you are right.

I still think that if Eastland had the right tenants (urban-type stores and urban-type entertainment), it'd do fine, but if Target is coming to that Baltimore mall, perhaps big-box stores would come as well. Question is whether or not the investment necessary to convert it fully to an urban-type center and to maintain the mall in decent condition would result in sufficient revenues from rents.

Also, how much at fault is Glimcher in Eastland's decline? That REIT seems to have a stable of C-grade malls in its portfolio, and perhaps Glimcher just isn't good at resurrecting malls or keeping them alive. Maybe GGP, which owns that Baltimore mall, just is a more effective owner?

Edited February 15, 2007 by mallguy

[StevenRocks]

I can't say Glimcher hurt Eastland, but I can't say they helped either. They're slacking off on even the most basic maintenece and the tenant choices to fill empty spaces haven't been that great. There are large merchandise categories that Eastland doesn't cover, and that hurts the shopability of the mall, almost as much as the dated appearance and the crime perception.

If they go under, I can't see a South Square-type development there. If it were closer to Independence or Harris, something like that would work better, but it's kind of off by ityself, far from the typical big-box deomographics.

Edited February 17, 2007 by StevenRocks

[Justadude]

The east side would probably be better off if Eastland just closed altogether. From here on, its reputation is just going to get seedier. It's already a magnet for thugs and gang activity, and every incident is going to further cement that image in the public consciousness. The transit center would have helped if it had come in years ago and been associated with other kinds of development; but now it's just going to be another reason for upscale clients to shun the mall area.

I hate to cheer for its closure, as I have fond childhood memories of the skating rink, but the chances of Eastland turning around its fortunes are extremely low. The likelihood is that it will just become a black hole that drags down the surrounding neighborhoods.

[mallguy]

The east side would probably be better off if Eastland just closed altogether.

Interesting post and you make some valid points. Maybe the mall could just be redeveloped into a community center? If Eastland closes and there's no local hangout, where will East Charlotte's youth go?

I agree about the transit center- if somebody who typically shops at SouthPark were to go to Eastland, driving along Central Avenue and seeing bus riders hanging out on the side of the street isn't exactly the most appealing first image of Eastland.

[DigitalSky]

If Eastland closes and there's no local hangout, where will East Charlotte's youth go?

Where they have been going, Northlake.

[Justadude]

A lot of those kids won't be going to Northlake, they'll be hitting the streets. The east side desperately needs some kind of deterrent to make streets like Eastway and Sharon Amity less appealing to roving groups of youth after sundown.

[StevenRocks]

I was off today and and I got a chance to go to Belk Eastland's store fixture sale. All the Belk signs have been removed from the building, and it's operating on a skeleton crew until they close out on the 28th. Great deals if you want to start a store and need fixtures.

It's a tired cliche, I know, but that place looked huge without all the merchandise. It had a really lonesome, abandoned look and feel. There was nothing but the occasional voice and the whirr of the escalators to break the silence. It made me really sad.

When I went into the mall, it was still busy, but it felt hollow. All the walled off Limited Brands spaces gave the former Belk wing a dark and lonely appearance. Somehow they placed a portable storage container in the former Belk court downstairs. It's a telling signal: the universal sign of moving writ large.

This place can and should be more than a reminder of an abandoned community.

Edited February 20, 2007 by StevenRocks

[mallguy]

Did you go to the Dillard's? That store also has a lot of empty space; in the "men's section", there are plenty of clothing racks with just a shirt or two on them. Looks sad.

[StevenRocks]

Did you go to the Dillard's? That store also has a lot of empty space; in the "men's section", there are plenty of clothing racks with just a shirt or two on them. Looks sad.

I went to Dillard's too. The menswear is tightly compacted around the former escalator area towards Sharon Amity. Knowing how nice that place used to look a few short years ago, it's a major disappointment.

I'll give them six months to a year before they pull out...

[mallguy]

I went to Dillard's too. The menswear is tightly compacted around the former escalator area towards Sharon Amity. Knowing how nice that place used to look a few short years ago, it's a major disappointment.

I'll give them six months to a year before they pull out...

I agree, although I hope the store sticks around. I've gotten some great deals there. Now, though, instead of having tons of shirts, they just have some nearly vacant racks, and ties heaped in piles. It's pathetic.

Out of curiosity, why doesn't Belk (and other departing stores) scrub the wall where their exterior signs were posted? The Belk labelscar is still there, very visible, due to the dirt that stuck to the wall behind the Belk sign. Looks horrible, but a gallon of Clorox could easily fix it.

Poor dead mall. You're right- the Belk wing is pretty dead now, with that drywall everywhere.

Edited February 21, 2007 by mallguy

[DigitalSky]

I agree, although I hope the store sticks around. I've gotten some great deals there. Now, though, instead of having tons of shirts, they just have some nearly vacant racks, and ties heaped in piles. It's pathetic.

Out of curiosity, why doesn't Belk (and other departing stores) scrub the wall where their exterior signs were posted? The Belk labelscar is still there, very visible, due to the dirt that stuck to the wall behind the Belk sign. Looks horrible, but a gallon of Clorox could easily fix it.

Poor dead mall. You're right- the Belk wing is pretty dead now, with that drywall everywhere.

remember the JC Penney labelscar was there forever.

[mallguy]

remember the JC Penney labelscar was there forever.

That looks pretty bad too!

Go to McAlister Square in Greenville, SC and the Belk labelscar is still there, probably six years after the store closed. I wouldn't want my company's image sullied by a labelscar on a dying mall.

I'm calling it now- when the mall is torn down, I want the sun logo above one of the entrances! It'd make a good decoration in a guest bedroom or in my office!

Edited February 21, 2007 by mallguy

[AuLukey]

So hey, let's say the mall hypothetically gets torn down, what kind of development would actually be good for that area and could possibly help redirect the type of growth going on in that area? Or is time and crime prevention the only thing that can alter the fate of that side of Charlotte?

[xyhamiltonboi]

I REPEAT

Eastland Mall is not going anywhere. Dillard's could pull out tomorrow. That mall isn't going anywhere. Despite the loss of Belk as an anchor. The mall can redevelop. Despite what symptoms the mall shows of aging or ailing. Eastland has done one thing right. They could have continued to market it to lifestyle apparel stores and yes they'd die, but because they're smart they are filling these spaces with stores that cater to their market. I've made a list of stores that would be on my wish list for Eastland Mall.

WATCHES UNLIMITED

SHIRIN JEWELERS

ANNA'S LINENS

I don't think it'll be long before the Belk space is leased. I think what's really holding up the mall is the sale of it. I also think part of the problem is that the SENIOR LEASING TEAM is located in Ohio. Who in Ohio can feel the touch of what a mall is doing in Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm pretty sure if the leasing rep was in Charlotte he'd know day by day what he could do to save the specialty stores because it appears Belk made their decision to leave years ago when they stopped caring.

Edited February 21, 2007 by xyhamiltonboi

[CLT]

Did you go to the Dillard's? That store also has a lot of empty space; in the "men's section", there are plenty of clothing racks with just a shirt or two on them. Looks sad.

Those empty racks used to be the home of long sleeve shirts and sweaters. At $2.99 each even the ugly stuff sold! I was by there yesterday and was surprised they had not done something to eliminate the empty racks.

[StevenRocks]

I wouldn't want my company's image sullied by a labelscar on a dying mall.

When stores like Belk and JCPenney get done with a location, they don't look back.

[monsoon]

I REPEAT

Eastland Mall is not going anywhere. ......

I don't think it'll be long before the Belk space is leased. I think what's really holding up the mall is the sale of it. I also think part of the problem is that the SENIOR LEASING TEAM is located in Ohio. Who in Ohio can feel the touch of what a mall is doing in Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm pretty sure if the leasing rep was in Charlotte he'd know day by day what he could do to save the specialty stores because it appears Belk made their decision to leave years ago when they stopped caring.

While this is your opinion, it misses the point completely that regional shopping malls, such as Eastland, have a business model that are by, for and of the American middle class. The middle class has abandoned Eastland and because of that the stores are leaving. I can't imagine that any retail establishment in Charlotte, that is big enough to lease something as huge as a Belk, is going to do so. They can attempt to give the space away but then the owners don't get any returns on the investment in the place and will soon move to liquidate it.

Only one mall in Charlotte has escaped this fate once the demographics of the area surrounding it changed and that was a mall far older than Eastland and more conducive for redevelopment. Many many others were either torn down or were converted into government or business office space. The question of now is how long will Dillards keep a token store open and what is going on with Sears which is the ONLY store left in that mall that may draw in people from beyond the neighborhoods that surround that mall. If either of them close the mall won't be far behind.

[MZT]

From what's being said here lately, I'm wondering if Dillard's is worth the trip anymore.

Although I might go by the Belk to buy a portable clothes rack, before it's gone.

Edited February 21, 2007 by MZT

[StevenRocks]

From what's being said here lately, I'm wondering if Dillard's is worth the trip anymore.

It's not much to look at anymore, but Dillard's Eastland is still a good place for bargains. It's just not a full-sized Dillard's anymore.

[mallguy]

Things Remembered, a gift shop (I'd guess) that is a national chain, near Dillard's on the upper level, has shut down.

When was Eastland last remodeled? I'd guess around 1990?