Eastland Mall (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Eastland Mall

Eastland Mall logo/entrance
Location	Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates	35°12′24″N 80°45′08″W / 35.206799°N 80.752236°W / 35.206799; -80.752236
Address	5471 Central Ave
Opening date	July 30, 1975; 49 years ago (1975-07-30)
Closing date	June 30, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-06-30) (demolished beginning October 1, 2013)
Developer	Faison Enterprises
Owner	City of Charlotte
No. of stores and services	59
No. of anchor tenants	1
Total retail floor area	1,100,000 sq ft (100,000 m2) (GLA)
No. of floors	3
[1][2]

Eastland Mall was a shopping mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center opened on July 30, 1975, as the then-largest mall in North Carolina with three anchor department stores, Belk, J.C. Penney, and Ivey's. A Sears, Roebuck and Company store joined four years later.^[3] The mall was owned by Glimcher Realty Trust and the City of Charlotte. Glimcher requested the mall be put into receivership due to heavy debt, and there were reports of the mall entering foreclosure. LNR sold the interior space in the mall to Boxer Properties of Houston for $2 million. It ceased operations on June 30, 2010, and was purchased by the city of Charlotte from Boxer Properties, and the owners of the vacant anchors in hopes of selling it to a developer.

After its takeover, the mall was maintained by the city of Charlotte. By a 10–1 vote on May 28, 2013, the Charlotte city council formally voted to demolish the mall for $871,520, as possible developers stated they had no use for the building. A large percentage of materials were recycled or preserved, including the mall's four entrance signs which will become part of a public art exhibit. Demolition began on October 1, 2013.

The Eastland Community Transit Center, a planned stop on the LYNX Rapid Transit Services Center City Corridor, is in the parking lot at the mall.