CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – People living in East Charlotte are surprised after Tepper Sports said it was planning to build football fields and the Charlotte FC Academy on the former Eastland Mall site.
WBTV’s Lowell Rose spoke to city council and neighbors about the changes.
Some people in East Charlotte feel betrayed by the carpet sports and entertainment back from the Eastland renovation project.
This was a promise made for years of broken promises for this region, but it still seems to be a bright future.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Dimple Ajmera, the great Charlotte City Council member.
“I was angry, I could not believe it,” said Mimi Davis, president of the East Charlotte Coalition of Neighborhoods. “The neighborhoods were excited, neighborhoods were working on the project, we were moving the information to the people who needed it, we were doing all these things and now all of a sudden, for reasons we do not understand, the carpet decided to take it out. “
Tepper Sports and Entertainment released a statement saying, in part, “After much deliberation, the timeline for the Eastland project posed challenges that led us to explore rapid alternatives.”
Plans with Tepper Sports would have included a practice facility for Charlotte FC and an academy, something the East Charlotte community wanted.
“Our development and our plan will continue without the carpet sports, so we will continue to provide catalyst for the site we have promised for our residents,” said Ajmera. “Let me assure you all that our commitment to redesigning the site, creating jobs and opportunities, and building the catalyst has not changed.”
“We wanted the football fields, we wanted his commitment, we wanted all of these things. It was important to the neighborhood,” Davis said.
Other development of the Eastland project continues with ground breaking in August.
The city released a statement saying it is “pursuing development opportunities for the part of the site that is focused on recreation and that align with the community’s vision.”
“We are now working with multiple development proposals for that site, so what we do will be aligned with the promises that have been made,” Ajmera said.
“This is not a one-person show with Tepper, they can do many, many other things and it will probably work out better in the long run,” Davis said.
The city said they are still talking with Tepper Sports about things in the city, and they are open to possibilities.
Crosland Southeast, the developer of Eastland says while they are disappointed, they were not surprised by Tepper Sport’s decision to pull out of the project.
“Crosland Southeast can confirm that Tepper Sports (TSE) will not be part of our redevelopment plans at the Eastland site. While we are disappointed, we are not surprised with their decision and our plans are not dependent on TSE’s commitment. Although ideally a decision would have been made much earlier, we can now finally start with the clarity we have been waiting for.
Expect this announcement at some point, we started parallel marketing efforts for this part of the site months ago and we are very encouraged by the level of interest in it. We hope to announce our updated plans very soon. In the meantime, our groundbreaking is scheduled for August 3rd, and Crosland Southeast is very excited to move into this next phase of progress for this important site.
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