Mecklenburg County commissioners discussed a new proposal Tuesday to redevelop Brooklyn Village in uptown Charlotte, a project where the county has struggled to get construction underway since selecting its first developer in 2016.
The county selected Florida-based Peebles Corporation 10 years ago to redevelop the site of Brooklyn, the historic Black neighborhood in Second Ward. But Peebles never built a single apartment and recently sold one parcel to a different developer, Charlotte-based First and Early.
First and Early’s proposal calls for the same amount of total square footage as the previous plan, but with less office space and fewer apartments.
Construction would begin three years after the county approves First and Early’s proposal.
Some commissioners said they were pleased with the proposal and that the county needs to move forward. Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell said she wants more affordable housing, while Commissioner Arthur Griffin said the project doesn’t do enough to honor the neighborhood’s past.
“What I would ask you to do in my three minutes is to figure what’s meant by preserving Brooklyn’s legacy,” Griffin said. “I don’t see that anywhere.”
Commissioners are expected to vote on the deal in November.
The county has filed a lawsuit against Peebles Corporation over the other parcels in the Brooklyn Village project.
