The city of Charlotte and a developer have filed a request to rezone the former Eastland Mall site for a development that could include apartments, offices, shops and a headquarters for Charlotte's new Major League Soccer team.
The city owns 69 of the 78 acres off Central Avenue in east Charlotte. Developer Crosland Southeast owns the rest.
Crosland has previously discussed plans for redeveloping the old mall, with shops, offices, dining and entertainment, as well as housing and some kind of sports component. Now, Carolina Panthers and MLS team owner David Tepper has said he wants to build offices and a soccer training facility there.
The rezoning petition filed this week envisions dividing the site into three development areas. The city and developer also are asking for the maximum five-year right to develop the site under the rezoning.
The city is still negotiating development agreements with Crosland and Tepper, and the rezoning petition filed this week is short on details, like the number of housing units or amount of office space.
The city council has agreed in principle to contribute $110 million in tourism-related tax revenues toward Tepper's costs, though details haven't been worked out.
Eastland Mall was North Carolina's largest mall when it opened in 1975. By the 2000s, sales were declining as competition increased. It closed in 2010, and the city bought it in 2012, for $13.2 million. The city later demolished the building and it has been mostly vacant parking lots since then.
