If you’ve lived in Charlotte for any amount of time, chances are you have stepped foot in one of our many malls. Southpark, Concord Mills, and Carolina Place are all frequented by swarms of bored teens, gift shoppers, and food court dwellers, and it is nearly impossible to walk through one of them during the holidays without seeing someone you know. Those previously mentioned malls are now some of the biggest names in the Charlotte area, but in the 70’s there was only one mall worth going to.
The grand opening of Eastland Mall took place on July 30, 1975. Located on Central Avenue, between Sharon Amity and Albemarle Road, this three-story building contained 1,100,000 square feet of retail space consisting of 3 anchors (JCPenney, Ivey, and Belk) and 50+ other stores. Introducing the first mall food court to the city and operating a skating rink in the middle of the space, this mall combined entertainment, dining, and shopping like never before. Axios Charlotte says “…Eastland was a trend-setter. It wasn’t like every mall that came later — every mall that came later was like Eastland.”
For a while the mall was thriving and so was its neighborhood. Eastland was shaping up to be a perfect suburban area. By the late ‘90s and early 2000s however, this narrative had shifted. An article from 1997 by the Charlotte Business Journal describes a lawsuit between a tenant and Eastland Mall’s management where the owner of The Coffee Beanery claimed the rising crime caused them to lose 40% of their sales. Incidents like shootings, police chases, and robberies led to the mall’s reputation changing from a fun social hub, to a dangerous, crime-ridden complex.
Further decline in the mall’s reputation was thanks to its original anchor stores pulling out of the operation. The first to go was JCPenny. According to an anonymous user on a December 2005 post for deadmalls.com, “Its JCPenney anchor became an outlet and then closed but was replaced with a classic dead mall anchor, Burlington Coat Factory, and [a] Fred’s, a regional discount chain similar to Family Dollar or Big Lots.” The author then explains how name brands like GAP were being replaced by smaller lesser-known stores, even extending to the food court with chains being replaced by local family-owned fast food joints. Things only got worse as the other two anchors left.
Between JCPenny leaving in 2002 and its foreclosure in 2010, the mall saw many changes. Owners shifted, the ice rink was turned into a soccer field, a Harris Teeter moved in and out, a movie theater reopened and reclosed, and a church ran their operations, all whilst the exterior continued to show its age and lack of uptake. After foreclosing the building sat vacant until finally facing demolition in 2013. By 2015, the Eastland community had built “Eastland DIY Skatepark” where many young Charlottiens got their first glimpse of the neighborhood. In 2020, amid exciting plans for the remaining 69 acres of land to be dedicated to a new Major League Soccer headquarters, the skatepark was demolished despite its Eastland community’s woes. Soon after demolition, the MLS plans fell through completely and the city had to come up with a new plan.
Many options were presented during the mall’s early decline, ranging from movie studio to ski slope but none of them ever stuck. According to WBTV, currently there are 3 big proposals being considered: “Eastland Aquatic Center” which projects to host 30+ events a year, a “Racquet Sports entertainment district” expecting to serve 16,000 people annually, and a massive Target anticipating to bring 300+ jobs to the city. All three options are proposed as catalysts for engagement with the local community of East Charlotte and aim to re-revitalize the area as the preceding mall once had.