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New plans unveiled for Eastland mall site

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — City leaders got a major update Thursday on what could be the future of the old Eastland Mall property, off Central Avenue.
 
The 80 acres have been vacant since the city tore the mall down two years ago.

IMAGES: Eastland Mall demolition 
 
Eastside residents like Darian Baskins have been waiting longer than that for something or someone to revive it.

"Every time I come here, I think, 'What are they going to do with it?'” Baskins said.

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City planners are now ready to shop for private investors for the property. 
 
"That's the next step, to gauge interest in the development community in this market cycle of: How does this site plan work for the market?" Pat Mumford, with Charlotte Neighborhood Services, said.

New renderings show a concept that would create a major park along Central Avenue and a kindergarten through eighth-grade magnet school from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools at the rear of the property.
 
City leaders hope private developers would want to build a mix of retail, office and residential space in the center, where a streetcar would eventually connect.
  
"All this put together sends a good signal about the commitment to see east Charlotte lifted up," Charlotte city councilman John Autry said.

There have been grand plans for the Eastland Mall site before, including the plan for a movie studio complex that never panned out. 

There is some construction already happening as crews started clearing land this week for a new gas station on the corner of Central Avenue and Sharon Amity Road.

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