Mecklenburg Commissioners agree in closed session: Time to end negotiations with Peebles Corp.

Mecklenburg County Commissioners decided in closed session Wednesday to end all negotiations with The Peebles Corporation, which was hired nine years ago to redevelop a big chunk of uptown into a new project called Brooklyn Village. The company hasn’t built a single apartment since the county picked the Florida developer in 2016.

People involved in the discussion Wednesday confirmed the county's decision to WFAE.

Commissioners have been growing increasingly frustrated with Peebles, which they believe is moving the goalposts on what is needed to get Brooklyn Village off the ground, even as other developments boom.

But the clear turning point was when the developer didn’t meet a July 28 contractual deadline to demolish the old Board of Education building uptown.

Peebles had told the county that the presence of asbestos in the building was a “force majeure” event, a legal term for an unforeseen event that makes it impossible to meet contractual requirements. The county responded that the developer’s claim is “meritless.”

More on The Peebles Corporation and Mecklenburg County

Nine Years Later: Lawsuits, delays pile up for Peebles in other cities

Mecklenburg County selected The Peebles Corporation to develop Brooklyn Village nine years ago. Nothing has been built in Charlotte and the firm has delayed projects in other cities.

Nine years later: How Mecklenburg's partnership with Peebles has produced nothing

Mecklenburg County commissioners selected The Peebles Corporation in 2016 to redevelop Brooklyn Village in Second Ward. Nothing has been built.

Mecklenburg County says Peebles' push to delay Brooklyn Village over asbestos is 'meritless'

Miami Beach-based Peebles Corp. has a July 28 deadline to demolish the old Board of Education building in uptown.

Peebles and Brooklyn Village: Beginning of the end?

The county's frustration boils down to this: After being picked in 2016 — and signing a development agreement in 2018 — The Peebles Corporation hasn’t built a single Brooklyn Village apartment.

Peebles withdraws request for Charlotte housing dollars, further jeopardizing plans for Brooklyn Village

The city of Charlotte said The Peebles Corporation has withdrawn its application for money from the Housing Trust Fund.

Developer's latest request for extension could doom Brooklyn Village plan

Mecklenburg County’s public-private partnership with The Peebles Corporation to build Brooklyn Village in Second Ward has hit another roadblock that could jeopardize the project.

Charlotte officials recommend against spending $13.5 million on Peebles' Brooklyn Village — for now

The city of Charlotte said Monday that the Peebles Corp. financials for Brooklyn Village are "challenging."

Mecklenburg commissioners like proposed changes to Brooklyn Village's first phase

The Peebles Corporation plans to build fewer apartments in the first phase of the Brooklyn Village development. But all of them would be affordable housing.

Brooklyn Village developer tells Mecklenburg County he's not ready to build

Six years ago, Mecklenburg County partnered with a developer to build Brooklyn Village — a mixed-use mega-project in Second Ward with apartments, office…

Commissioners furious as developer says Brooklyn Village construction won't begin until 2026

Mecklenburg County commissioners heard Wednesday night from the developer behind a long-delayed project the county pinned its hopes on to revive a big slice of uptown. It’s been more than eight years since county commissioners voted to partner with the Peebles Corporation to build Brooklyn Village. Peebles has blamed rising costs and interest rates for the yearslong delay in construction. The company now plans to start vertical construction on the first 552 apartments by June 2026.

Brooklyn Village developer proposes cutting number of apartments in first phase by half

The Peebles Corporation was picked by Mecklenburg Commissioners in 2016 to develop Brooklyn Village. Nothing has been built.

Too big to succeed? So many public-private partnerships languish

Construction on Brooklyn Village planned for uptown Charlotte won't start until 2026, 10 years after the county commission chose the developer. Why didn’t the developer secure financing in 2021 or 2022 when interest rates were low? How have other developers managed to build thousands of apartments all over the city since the pandemic?

A closer look at the Brooklyn Village project saga

On the next Charlotte Talks, there was some movement last week in the long-awaited Brooklyn Village Project. The developer is now proposing to replace market-rate units with affordable housing. That could finally get this project underway. But what has taken so long in this effort to develop the old Second Ward site of a historic Black neighborhood, and will this new proposal do the trick?

That missed milestone led commissioners to unanimously direct staff on Wednesday to walk away from what was supposed to be a $700 million development of stores, office towers and apartments. Brooklyn was a historically Black neighborhood in Second Ward that was demolished in the 1960s as part of federally funded urban renewal projects nationwide. It was replaced with mostly sterile government buildings, some of which sat empty, a little used park, and the county's jail and courthouse.

Peebles has been trying to negotiate with the county over ways to build affordable housing on a 5.5-acre parcel of land it owns near the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center. It appears those talks are over.

That’s according to people who were part of the discussion.

The county’s outside attorney, Womble Bond Dickinson, is expected to relay that message to Peebles in a letter.

It’s likely that years of litigation lie ahead.

Peebles owns one parcel of land, and it could argue it still has the right to buy other pieces of land as part of its 2018 master development agreement with the county.

Earlier this summer, the city of Durham voted to end its relationship with Peebles. The city had selected the firm in 2024 to redevelop an old police station downtown, but the developer and the city couldn't find a way to make the project work financially.