CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — The man who owns one of Charlotte's most well-known shopping centers is donating it.
Porter Byrum, a 91-year-old World War II veteran and retired lawyer, is donating Park Road Shopping Center to three colleges: Wake Forest, Queens and Wingate. Records show the property is worth more than $55 million.
Shoppers said they're just glad the shopping center, located on the corner of Woodlawn and Park roads, is supposed to stay open.
"It's an anchor in the neighborhood," Rick Vosteen said. "So (I) couldn't even imagine it not being here."
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When the shopping center opened in 1956, it was the largest of its kind between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. It now has more than 60 businesses.
Byrum and three of his brothers attended Wake Forest University. As the sons of a Baptist minister, they attended tuition-free.
Byrum said in a release, "My daddy never would have been able to put four boys through college, so somebody ought to pay back that debt. It makes me feel good to do that."
Wake Forest will receive the largest percentage of the three schools benefiting from the gift of the shopping center, with the rest divided equally between Wingate and Queens.