Once the hub of nightlife in uptown, Charlotte’s Epicentre is going into foreclosure. That’s according to a court overseeing the receivership of the complex. The fate of the once vibrant entertainment spot had been up in the air after its owner defaulted on an $85 million loan earlier this year.
WFAE's "Morning Edition" host Marshall Terry talks with the Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter's Tony Mecia about that and other business news in the latest BizWorthy.
To listen to the full conversation, click the audio above.
The Epicentre opened in 2008, and was once the "hotspot uptown, appropriately named," Mecia said.
"But people's preferences are fickle sometimes, and they sort of move on," Mecia said.
South End developed into a nightlife destination, there were a couple shootings at the Epicentre in 2019 and fewer people visited. Businesses stopped making rent payments.
"And the next thing you know, the Epicentre is now 70% vacant," Mecia said.
This week, after the Epicentre had not been making payments on an $85 million loan, there was a court hearing in which the site said it would head to foreclosure. That means ownership would transfer to the bank, Mecia said, and the bank would have an auction to sell the property to a new owner.
"I don't really have any inside information on what's going to happen, but I think the prevailing sentiment is that something is going to have to be redone there," Mecia said. "They might have to knock it down and start fresh with something different in its place. But that's, you know, that still many steps away. It remains to be seen."
In other topics discussed:
Blakeney and Blakeney Crossing shopping centers in south Charlotte have been sold — but don't expect big changes.
"These sorts of things happen all the time where, for whatever reason, the owner of a shopping center or any commercial property will sell it, find a willing buyer," Mecia said.
- Manifest Discs, a record store that has been open since 1999 on South Boulevard, closed last week. Although there's been a vinyl resurgence in recent years, Mecia says it wasn't enough to sustain the store.
- "Yes, vinyl is making a comeback," he said. "It's still a very small percentage of overall music sales."
- And a Charlotte Ledger reader asked if low-cost airline Breeze Airways might be adding Charlotte to its 16-city offering after seeing one of its planes at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. No luck, Mecia said. It was just a charter flight.
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the audio above.
