Belk, Eastland Mall, to close by mid-February

According to unnamed sources, Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk, Inc. intends to close its underperforming Eastland Mall store, also located in Charlotte, by mid-February of next year.

The two-level, 160,000 square foot store opened in 1975 as one of Eastland Mall's original anchors.

Though Belk has denied rumors in the past that they planned to close their Eastland store, even after plans for a larger store in a more affluent neighborhood were announced in 2005, they have made no secret of their displeasure with the demographic changes at the struggling mall and have slowly reduced the breadth and quality of the merchandise lines at the store over the past several years, recently closing the lower level men's department and consolidating its merchandise on the upper level.

Further information on the closing will be proviuded as it becomes available.

Previously on LiveMalls
Belk, Eastland Mall

New Transit Center To Help Revitalize Area Around Eastland Mall

WSOCTV.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- City leaders hope a new Charlotte Area Transit System Transit Center will breathe new life into a declining area of the Queen City.

East Charlotte remains a part of town teetering between blight and hope.

Friday morning, city leaders tossed shovels full of dirt for the ceremonial groundbreaking of a new CATS transit center on the grounds of Eastland Mall.

Many who live nearby, such as Kyle Woudstra, believe the new project could help reverse a developing negative image of east Charlotte.

"The perception is not where I would like it to be right now. However, it is just that -- a perception. At the end of the day, go look at the stats and everything. Life's good here," he said.

Life has also been difficult in the past for the east Charlotte area. Two summers ago, near riots erupted among teen bus riders at Eastland. Last fall, gunfire erupted inside the mall.

Part of the transit center design includes a manned security tower and an open air design police believe will discourage crime.

"There's no place for people to conduct any improper or illegal activity," said Capt. Harold Medlock, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The city also hopes the project will spur new development nearby. Charlotte's mayor, Pat McCrory, sees even bigger change when street car lines reach Eastland a decade from now.

"We build around the street car with residential and retail and this will be a great place to come," he said.

If that happens, residents hope east Charlotte could revive just as fast as it has declined.

Mall dismisses 'random' shooting

Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina, Center Court, Dillard's and the Ice Chalet. Photographed with camera phone 5/28/2005.

By: Brittany Morehouse, News 14 Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Many people continued to shop at Eastland Mall on Tuesday, one day after a shooting near the food court.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said two groups of young men were involved in an argument when one man took out a handgun and fired two shots at another.

“That was a behavior and an unfortunate incident that could have happened anywhere at any time,” CMPD spokesman Keith Bridges said. “It's an unfortunate incident for the mall. Someone just used very sorry judgment and ended up doing something like that.”

Marvin Snyder, the mall’s general manager, feels the same way. He doesn’t think the shooting proves that his mall is more dangerous than any other.

“We consider this a random incident,” he said. “It could have happened any other place at any time.”

Others aren’t so sure. Mall employee Chris Whiteheart said the mall might need to tighten security.

“I think it’s a shame that you can’t go to the mall and go shopping without having to worry about violence or shootings,” he said. “Maybe they should use metal detectors and stuff like that.”

Amico Edwards, a regular Eastland shopper, agrees.

"I think maybe they need to tighten up security and keep young people away from loitering and stuff like that,” he said.

Franklin Simon is concerned about his family.

“My sister works has to work in this mall, and I am concerned about her,” Simon said. “I think she has to work here today, and I don't want her working there at all.”

Mall management said it will review its security measures although criminal activity is down 21 percent from last year.

“We are going to re-evaluate our security policy to see if there is any changes that need to be made,” Snyder said.

Police have yet to charge anyone with the shooting. They detained three people for questioning Monday and charged two of them with unrelated offenses.

Terrence McBride, 19, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting a public officer. Ronald Tolson, 19, is charged with trespassing.

The other detainee was released.

On a kick for kicks

BY JAWEED KALEEM
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Jason Hall could go two months without wearing the same pair of shoes. He has Dunks for skateboarding, Air Jordans and Air Force Ones for basketball and Air Max Trainers, to name a few -- all that he'll wear casually, but carefully. He's worn many only once or twice.

They come in combinations of gold and green and pink and brown, with laces that are neon green and bright yellow.

He's not just somebody with a lot of shoes. And he doesn't just buy any pair. They have to be special. And rare, like his Lucky Dunks, which could sell for $700 online. And his Cinder Bisons, which he says could go at $500.

Ever since the athletic shoe market exploded in the mid-1980s with releases like the Air Jordan, people have been collecting sneakers.

But now it's grown to the point that metro Detroit has a store dedicated to limited edition, collectible shoes. Rachel Carroll's Royal Oak store, Burned Rubber, is projected to sell a half-million dollars in shoes before its one-year anniversary in October. Sixty percent of her customers are collectors.

In cities like Los Angeles and New York, there are sneaker exhibitions. This summer marked the debut of ESPN2's "It's the Shoes" (12:30 a.m. Tuesdays), hosted by sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia that takes viewers into the shoe collections of celebrities like basketball player Allen Iverson and hip-hop star Nelly -- sneaker culture is inseparable from sports and rap culture.

There are even books on the topic. One released this year is "Sneakers: The Complete Collectors' Guide" (Thames & Hudson, $29.95), written by Unorthodox Styles, a British group that produced http://www.crookedtongues.com/, a collecting Web site.

Hall says he buys about seven pairs a month, some of which he finds during the four hours a day he spends on Web sites like eBay and NikeTalk, an online discussion board. Most of the shoes he buys originally retailed for around $125, although he refuses to reveal how much he's paid for his shoes, most of which he bought in stores.

Some people would call Hall a sneakerhead. Others could be more jarring and say he's a sneakerfreak.

"I'm just a guy who loves shoes," says the 31-year-old from Detroit. During the day, he's an associate director at WDIV-TV (Channel 4).

He loves the look, the design, the colors, the commercials, the celebrity endorsements, even the smell. "There are sneakers I still smell that I've never worn," he says. A few years ago, he spent six months training himself to recognize shoe models by their scent, but "never really got it down."

When Hall hangs out with his friends, the conversation always turns to shoes. His belt has a silver buckle that reads "MWKC" -- Midwest Kick Collectors, his sneaker-loving posse.

This loose group of friends includes Detroiters Jay Wilkins, 34, and Donavan Allen, 25.

Wilkins, who occasionally DJs, owns 60 pairs that he says are worth at least $3,000. But as he and his friends point out, a shoe is worth as much as somebody will pay for it. One of his best pairs is the Nike Paris Dunk, a 2004 skateboarding shoe that he says could go for $1,800. It's worth so much because only 200 pairs exist.

Allen works at the Detroit Science Center and is the "self-crowned king of discount," he says. Of his 75 pairs, he's gotten most for less than $30. He loves vintage sneakers, which, in an industry so young, can mean a pair just 10 years old. He says he spends "endless hours" online looking for shoes. That's how he scored an original, unworn pair of 1982 Nike Dashers. The price? $17. He got his 1987 Nike Delta Forces the same way. They were $28.

The seller "had no clue what they were," he says about getting vintage kicks so cheap. If he sold the shoes now, "they could go for anything," Allen says. Hall says he has seen pairs like these selling for up to $300 online.

These three don't just buy for themselves, but look out for each other.

"We're looking at our own sizes, we're looking at our friends' sizes," says Allen, who will immediately call his buddies if he finds a connection to score the latest release. "It's all about networking." Since he seriously took up collecting in 1998, Allen has known where to find the rarest and newest shoes with connections to Web sellers and Detroit businesses.

And it's not limited to that. Hall has gone to Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles and San Francisco specifically to look for shoes. In comparison, Detroit's shoe market is small, he says. But it's not uncommon to hop the border to Windsor -- stores there get special Canadian releases. When he's looking for a shoe, he usually visits about 15 stores. He won't say which, though; if he did he wouldn't be able to find the hottest shoes anymore -- they'd all sell out.

Collecting "at times can be an addiction," Hall says. Three years ago, during the height of his obsession, he spent up to $400 a week on shoes. "I would literally get my paycheck, go cash it on my lunch break, run to Eastland Mall, and buy something before I had to be back from lunch," he says.

He collects Nikes almost exclusively now, as do his friends. But he started out buying Adidas. And he still owns some pairs of New Balance.

Shoestore owner Carroll says collectors generally focus on Nikes. The company targets them with technologically advanced, limited edition and well-marketed shoes, she says. The corporation has capitalized upon celebrity endorsements and rereleases of retro styles. And it doesn't hurt that collectors are brand loyal.

The NBA fined Michael Jordan up to $5,000 a game when he first started wearing the red and black Nike Air Jordans in 1985. Today, there are 20 different models of the shoe and a handful of modern rereleases. Originals Air Jordan Ones can fetch $1,000 online.

The Midwest Kick Collectors don't re-sell their shoes, but Hall knows what he'll do when the game ends.

"When I decide that it's all over, I'm just going to post them all on eBay," he says. With the money, "I'll put a down payment on a Mercedes."

southcenter (courtesy malls of america)

This is a vintage postcard image of Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington. Marrie mentioned it in some comments she made on the Eastland post and I found this on Keith Milford's site.

Facing decline, Eastland owners to sell

By J. Lee Howard
Charlotte Business Journal

Eastland Mall is for sale -- exactly two years after an Ohio real estate investment trust bought the 1.1 million-square-foot retail center and promised a $10 million makeover.

Columbus, Ohio-based Glimcher Realty Trust has bundled Eastland with two other Southeast shopping malls in a portfolio and is marketing the properties for sale.

Some observers say the proposed sale could mark the beginning of the end for the Charlotte region's fifth-largest shopping center, which opened in 1975.

"But that doesn't mean it couldn't reinvent itself," says local land-use consultant Walter Fields of the Walter Fields Group. "The stores could be re-tenanted. Markets change, and retailers change with the markets."

Officials at publicly traded Glimcher won't comment, and they decline to identify the brokerage firms the company has hired to market the three malls.

The other malls are East Pointe Plaza in Columbia, S.C., and Pea Ridge Shopping Center in Huntington, W.Va.

Glimcher disclosed its intentions in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The possibility of new ownership makes Eastland's future an open question, local observers say. They note Glimcher had committed to work with the city to transform the property into a village center for Charlotte's east side.

Glimcher had teamed with the city, neighborhood residents and area business interests on a plan to redevelop the site, with the proposal including a transit hub for streetcars.

City officials say Glimcher representatives have said privately the company will continue its plans to upgrade the mall until a buyer is found. The question, of course, is whether a new owner will follow through on Glimcher's promises.

"From my conversations with the company, they plan to continue their efforts to redevelop the property, because if they can't get the price they're looking for, they don't want to lose time for redeveloping and repositioning the center," says Tom Flynn, assistant to the city manager for business relations.

He remains optimistic, noting Glimcher has continued talks with the Charlotte Area Transit System about CATS' buying a 2-acre mall parcel for a transit stop.

"We are glad they are going to continue their repositioning work," Flynn says. "If they had not, it would not have been good for the center or the east side."

A shifting market
In August 2003, Glimcher took full ownership of the mall, buying the 80% stake held by The Cameron Group of Charlotte and Florida-based Hospitality International Group for $4.75 million. Before that deal, Glimcher held 20% interest in Eastland.

Shortly thereafter, the company announced plans to recast the mall to accommodate the east side's shifting demographics, which include burgeoning Asian and Latino populations.

The idea was to create a walkable town center with entertainment venues, shops and dining. The city kicked in $3 million from its Eastside Strategy fund to further leverage the makeover.

Among the plan's enthusiastic supporters was District 5 Councilwoman Nancy Carter, who represents the area.

Carter's belief in a vibrant future for the site hasn't wavered. If a new owner doesn't initially buy into the city's plans for the site, she contends, pressure can be brought to bear to make it reconsider. "We have the density here to make this a true town center," Carter says. "This mall has the potential to be transformed."

Market watchers say Eastland's viability as a traditional mall is drawing to a close. Competition from newer malls, they say, eventually will draw away the anchors -- Belk, Dillard's and Sears. Officials at those companies did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Some view the major threat as Childress Klein Properties' 1.2 million-square-foot Bridges at Mint Hill, planned for Lawyers Road at Interstate 485.

Chris Thomas, Childress Klein's retail partner, disagrees. He notes the Bridges project is more than 10 miles from Eastland and contends that development is more likely to draw shoppers from Union and Cabarrus counties than from Charlotte's interior.

Still, he acknowledges the Eastland area is a changing market and any new owner is going to have to recognize that. "There are still dollars to be spent over there," Thomas says. "Eastland is a viable retail location. It's just a matter of finding out which retailers will be successful there."

Mid-1970s magnet
The 30-year-old Eastland Mall once was a commercial magnet, buoyed by suburban growth and unique attractions such as its indoor skating rink.

But through the years, Eastland hasn't remade itself the way SouthPark mall has. SouthPark opened five years before Eastland but remains a high-end retail hub that bears scant resemblance to its initial 1970 operation.

Meanwhile, the east-side demographics have shifted, and the enclosed mall as a concept has generally faded in popularity.

Several real estate sources say Glimcher officials previously talked privately about clearing the 30-acre Eastland site altogether and starting from scratch, possibly making it a discount retail power center.

"The big retailers want to be in higher-growth areas, and Eastland is bound in with no interstates nearby," says Andy Misiaveg, a partner at retail brokerage firm The Shopping Center Group. "Whoever buys it is going to have to be satisfied they can do something with it long term, without the current retail lineup."

In recent years, Eastland has lost key tenants, both within the mall and along its perimeter.

J.C. Penney, which closed three years ago, has been replaced by discount retailer Fred's Inc. and a Burlington Coat Factory. Across Albemarle Road, the former Upton's department store has sat empty for years. Other, smaller retailers also have closed or moved.

Weighing new uses
In June 2003, the city adopted a growth strategy for the area called the Eastland Area Plan. As part of that plan, it created a group called the Eastland Area Strategy Team, a coalition of residents, business owners and other interested parties wishing to help shape the area's future.

Most residents and businesses are aware the mall's clientele and surrounding neighborhoods are changing, says Kyle Woudstra, a senior associate at WGM Design Inc. and co-chair of EAST.

"Eastland Mall as a regional mall is no more," Woudstra says. The trick now, he says, is to make the best use of the land for future generations.

It may well be the property could be revamped to accommodate higher-density housing or other uses, he says. But major retail development "is not going to work on this site anymore."

The key may be to retool Eastland to cater to the area's growing ethnic populations, says Rich Barta, partner at retail brokerage and development firm Core Properties.

A Spanish language movie theater and stores catering to a variety of ethnic tastes could do well, he suggests.

"But redeveloping it as another 1 million-square-foot mall would be ill-fated," Barta says. "It would be like turning an apple into an orange."

random shots of eastland mall, charlotte, nc

This is the home of the doomed Belk store. I took these with my camera phone on May 28, 2005.

At Eastland, I went in a discount place called Fred's (may have mentioned Fred's before; this time I actually went in). Fred's was like a clean version of Roses, but had a few cool things; like a closeout pair of Adidas track-style shoes inspired by vintage products (that was for some inexplicable reason at this store). I will have to go back sometime.


Lower level entrance along Central Avenue


Center Court, Dillard's and the Ice Chalet


Former JCPenney, now Burlington Coat Factory and Fred's.

belk @ eastlnad mall | is it closing?

Belk, Eastland Mall, Charlotte, North Carolina (outisthorough)

The news couldn't be worse for Eastland Mall in Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer reports today that developers General Growth Properties Inc. of Chicago and Charlotte's Childress Klein Properties are teaming on The Bridges at Mint Hill at Interstate 485 and Lawyers Road. This new development is currently planned as a 1.3 million square foot upscale open-air retail and entertainment center anchored by a 180,000 square foot Belk store. The new shopping center plans to open in 2007. The developers also plan to include two other large anchor stores, though the names of those retailers were not announced.

This developemnt is within eight miles of 30-year-old Eastland Mall and would serve a substantially more upscale clientele than the east Charlotte mall, siphoning off what remains of those customers at Eastland. Though Belk is denying rumors that they plan to close their Eastland store when the new center opens, they have made no secret of their displeasure with the demographic changes at the struggling mall and have slowly reduced the breadth and quality of the merchandise lines at the store over the past several years.

Eastland is on the verge of a major revival, with community leaders and developers Glimcher Corporation attempting to evolve the mall into a safer, more innovative community destination. It has never been clear if Belk was interested in being a part of the future of the mall, and company officials are taking the public stance of 'wait-and-see' in regards to the 160,000 square foot store.

My take on the issue: it's a goner. I've seen this happen so many times before with other Belk stores in minority neighborhoods that if they do save the place, it will be a miracle and a remote one at that. They certainly haven't spent any money on the building itself in years, and the neighborhood isn't getting richer or whiter.

Goodbye, Belk Eastland. It's been a good run.

charlotte malls

It's been ages since I've talked about the malls in Charlotte (see my Neiman-Marcus and food court posts if you'd like), but if you're looking for some more insight besides mine, check out Charlotte Malls.

The creators of this site chronicled SouthPark, Eastland, and Carolina Place malls for the enjoyment of all who visit. The site itself could use some work aeshetically, but it's a lot of work to chronicle mall information and still have a life otherwise.

roebuck: queen city to star city

In my research for my post on the Sears and JCPenney archives, I ran across some information on the former Sears store in downtown Charlotte. On Sears’ website, they said the old downtown store closed in 1979 and moved to Eastland Mall.

I thought it was a misprint because Eastland opened in 1975 and I thought Sears opened with the mall. But I was wrong: several people on a historic Charlotte website had fond memories of the old store, noting in particular the cafeteria and the architecture, some things Sears hasn’t had distinctions in for decades.

One site even had some old newspaper clippings of the vintage 1949 store and some pictures of the old store today, which is now an office for the city of Charlotte. I know that Winston-Salem had a Sears of similar design, built around the same time, but it was vacated in 1975, when Hanes Mall opened (Sears says 1976 at the archives, but I haven’t found a second opinion yet).

I never knew anything about that old store, but I do have a connection to the old freestanding Sears stores. Roanoke used to have one called “Sears-Town”, built in 1957, which we used to shop as a family before Sears moved to Valley View Mall in 1985. I didn’t give much thought to the old building on Williamson Road, just north of downtown, until I got my first job as an architect.

The biggest project I’ve ever did at LMW was the addition to and renovation of Sears-Town into the City of Roanoke Health and Human Services Facility. Renovating that building was one of the hardest things I ever did. Because of all the memories I had about that building and some design decisions that I didn’t agree with, it felt at some times like I was ripping up part of my childhood. In the end, the project turned out okay, if not architecturally stunning. It’s not what it was, but it became isn’t too bad.