Residents launch petition against CMS plan for old Eastland Mall property

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — East Charlotte residents have been complaining for years that nothing has been done to redevelop the old Eastland Mall site.

Charlotte leaders are preparing to finalize a deal to build a school there, but some neighborhood activists say it’s the wrong plan.

"We need something that’s an economic driver that brings back energy,” Ed Garber said.

Garber has created a new Facebook page about the issue and started an online petition called “Vote no on the sale of land at Eastland to CMS for school.”

He’s hoping to convince City Council members to kill the deal.

"The thing is, you put the school there and you’re really inhibiting what’s going to be able to go there in the future,” Garber said.

Garber isn’t alone in his opposition to the idea of a school as a catalyst for the Eastland area. The city’s planning committee sent a letter to the mayor and the council last October that urged the city “not to approve the sale of a portion of the Eastland Mall site to CMS at this time.”

The letter said relying on a K-6 school to “anchor” redevelopment of the property does not make sense.

However, the City Council’s economic development committee recently approved sending the deal to the full council later this month.

Councilman John Autry, who represents the area, said he’s surprised by the citizen backlash.

“Who would have thought that a school would be a controversial issue?” he said.

Autry said the idea has been discussed for more than a year and that only “in the last 30 to 40 days it has blown up as a controversial issue.”

Eastland’s recent history has been a story of failure. After the mall closed in the wake of several shootings, the site sat vacant until the city bought the property in 2012 and tore down the mall buildings the next year. Several high-profile proposals for the site, including a plan for a movie studio complex, fell flat.

Urban planner David Walters said he doubts that any major development will come to Eastland until something else jump-starts the area.

“I think it’s fairly clear that no developer is going to get really interested until the city does something. The school is a very good way to start,” Walters said.

Opponents disagree and say they’re planning a rally this weekend to try to get the city’s attention.

“It doesn’t sound like the council is really hearing our voice saying we need an economic driver at Eastland,” Garber said.

Cox Media Group