A letter hand-delivered to tenants on Friday said that the mall’s owners had hit a dead end in their longtime efforts to find a buyer to operate or redevelop the mall, and that the property was now in foreclosure.
“It is understood,” said the letter from Miami Beach-based LNR Partners, a lender that took over principal ownership of the mall last fall, “that the lender or any other party that acquires title to Eastland Mall at foreclosure will close the mall.”
A regional showplace when it opened in 1975, with a skating rink and the first food court in the state, Eastland Mall has struggled for more than a decade to remain viable as it lost customers to other malls, such as SouthPark and Northlake. It’s also been hurt by the exodus of its anchor stores: Belk, Dillard’s, J.C. Penny and Sears.
The City of Charlotte had considered buying the entire 90-acre site – the mall itself measures 1.1 million square feet – in hopes of revitalizing east Charlotte. City staff came up with several future possibilities for the location, including everything from a YMCA to a VA hospital, from a 911/311 call center to a “town center” with stores, offices and houses.
But by the time the tenants got their letters Friday, the city was “not at the table,” said Charlotte City Council member Nancy Carter, whose district includes the mall, at the corner of Central Avenue and North Sharon Amity Road.
Carter said Sunday that she expects the mall the close. And though the councilwoman said she continues to work behind-the-scenes to help answer “what now?” for the site, she was disappointed that the city had not acted more aggressively to buy the property when owners seemed interested in selling it for $22 million.
Instead, the city council voted 9-1 late last year – Carter was the lone holdout – to offer $7.4 million.
