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In late April, The Peebles Corporation sent Mecklenburg County a letter that it wouldn’t meet a contractual July 28 deadline to demolish the empty Board of Education building on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The demolition is a milestone toward the goal of creating Brooklyn Village, a massive, long-delayed new development of apartments, stores and retail.
Peebles said Mecklenburg must give it an extra year to finish the job, citing a “Force Majeure Event” — a legal term describing unforeseen circumstances that make it impossible to fulfill a contractual obligation. That usually means something like a massive hurricane or a severe economic recession.
In this case, the force majeure is said to be “150,000 square feet of asbestos-containing materials,” according to a letter obtained by WFAE.
The Board of Education building is more than 50 years old. Why was it a surprise that it’s full of asbestos? Why wasn’t this figured out sometime sooner, in the nine years after Mecklenburg County picked Peebles as the winning developer for Brooklyn Village?
That was the thought of many Mecklenburg Commissioners and county staff when they met in closed session last month.
According to multiple people who were part of the discussion, the county’s patience with Peebles is exhausted.
Their frustration boils down to this: After being picked in 2016 — and signing a development agreement in 2018 — Peebles hasn’t built a single apartment.
Been here before
The developer appeared to be on thin ice once before, but managed an escape.
In the fall of 2024, Executive Vice President Donahue Peebles told Mecklenburg commissioners he wouldn’t be able to start building a 500-unit apartment complex for the first phase of Brooklyn Village. He said market conditions were poor.
Commissioners were upset. They talked openly in the meeting about whether they could go in a different direction, possibly severing the relationship.
Then, in February, Peebles unveiled a new plan: Instead of the mostly market-rate apartments, he could build a 250-unit apartment complex with every unit set aside for low-income residents.
Most commissioners were thrilled. County Manager Dena Diorio appeared to be on board and defended the new project.
Then, back to reality: The city of Charlotte in April turned down Peebles’ request for $13.5 million from its Housing Trust Fund, needed to subsidize the development. Charlotte and the developer then tried to find a way to make the project work at a lower cost, but were unsuccessful.
Peebles withdrew its application for city money last week.
The July 28 deadline
Being blocked from getting money from the city of Charlotte is a blow, but it leaves Peebles with some wiggle room. He’s required to start building phase one of Brooklyn by this summer if market conditions allow it.
That’s a large gray area, especially given recent economic turmoil
But the July deadline to demolish the building is firm.
The county has been embarrassed for years by inaction in the development of Brooklyn Village. Now it has the upper hand.
Will the asbestos request be the beginning of the end?
