Developers reveal plans for ‘the new Eastland’ — concerts, soccer and gaming at mall site

Three Charlotte companies will submit a joint bid for what they call “the new Eastland.”

Developer QC East is expected to submit an $83 million proposal for a gaming, athletic and concert venue on the site of the demolished Eastland Mall, documents obtained by The Charlotte Observer show.

Charlotte Soccer Academy, Southern Entertainment and Carolina Esports Hub comprise the development company. They’ll each bring a different piece to the project, which they expect will attract more than 352,000 annual visitors and $111 million in annual economic impact. But developers haven’t yet won over east Charlotte’s biggest neighborhood advocacy group.

District 6 Charlotte City Councilman Tariq Bokhari is a minority investor in the Carolina Esports Hub.

Charlotte Soccer Academy would anchor and manage six artificial turf fields that would also be festival grounds. Developers expect the festival grounds to hold up to 5,000 visitors for major music festivals, local and national headliners and cultural festivals.

An indoor space on the property would serve as a technology hub for esports and STEM education. It could also fit up to 2,500 people for events and concerts.

QC East wants $30 million in public investment and say it already has up to $20 million in non-binding commitments from private lenders. It expects to raise $50 million total in private investment.

The project would take just over three years to build, developers say.

QC East will submit the proposal to the city’s economic development committee Monday, which will vote on how to move forward. If OK’d by the committee, developers want to begin planning by winter.

But the event venue space will compete with other developers vying for the space. The committee previously heard proposals for a racket sports complex, an aquatic center and a Target store. It requested all three developers to come back in 60 days with refreshed proposals.

Some details of the proposal were reported by The Charlotte Ledger Wednesday, and developers are expected to release information about the project publicly Thursday afternoon.

It’s the second time soccer fields have been proposed at the site. Panthers and Charlotte FC owner David Tepper formerly planned to build a soccer academy on the site. But Tepper pulled out of the deal in July.

Bokhari says he won’t participate in council vote

Bokhari said he plans to abstain from council deliberations and votes on the site because he’s a minority stakeholder in Carolina Esports Hub. A memo from City Attorney Patrick Baker obtained by the Observer says the District 6 councilman also plans to abstain from taking profits associated with the project or acquire property there. He won’t advocate for the project with city officials, Baker said.

Baker said Bokhari isn’t prohibited from participating in the public-private partnership because his ownership is less than 10%. But the city attorney said Bokhari should consider proactively disclosing his ownership stake before the council considers the proposal.

Bokhari told the Observer he was concerned the last three bids — a tennis center, an aquatic center or a Target store — weren’t the right fit for the site. When the council decided to extend the bidding process 60 days, Bokhari said he “immediately jumped into action to see if I could find the best concepts, with the most proven track records of raising capital and executing on big visions.”

The proposal, he says, will “jump start the engine of an entire part of town while addressing the biggest desires of the residents who live there.”

Members of Charlotte EAST, an advocacy-focused nonprofit for the area, say the development raises more red flags than the other proposals the city received. Elderly east Charlotte residents won’t like new traffic at the event venue, Charlotte EAST Chair Greg Asciutto said in an emailed statement to the Observer.

“There are concerns regarding amenities for our older residents who will be living right next door on the Crosland development, as well as how — with clouds hovering around the future of the Gold Line — transportation and parking will look in the short-term,” Asciutto said. “Despite plans for shuttle services to support large festival-type events, how would the City prevent mass overflow parking in the Winterfield, Windsor Park and Wilora Lake neighborhoods?”

Bokhari said he empathizes with the neighbors’ concerns.

“While there are a lot of details to be worked out, standing shoulder to shoulder with those neighborhood groups, I’m confident everything from parking to noise will be managed acceptably. Those are fair concerns and we will work with the community to resolve them,” Bokhari said. “One of the main reasons I asked these folks to lead a bid was their track record of experience. They’ve solved issues of this magnitude across the country working with neighborhoods and governments. I’m confident they will do it again.”

Other details about the proposal

Here’s what else initial proposal documents show about QC East’s plans for the site:

▪ “QC East @ Eastland Yards” is a placeholder name for the site that would be changed with community input.

▪ QC East’s non-binding commitments are from First Citizens Bank, Truist and Pinnacle.

▪ $11 million in public money would be for an infrastructure grant and $19 million would be from hospitality funds distributed over two years.

▪ The athletic fields would be used for soccer, flag football and lacrosse.

▪ The technology hub could have workforce development opportunities, including classes on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, drone piloting, coding and programming. They also expect to host three to five esports events annually.

▪ Developers expect less than 12% of concert or festival attendees to drive themselves, but would use shuttles from “satellite parking lots” at nearby local businesses and encourage attendees to use public transit or a rideshare service.

How new bid matches up to other proposals

The City Council’s economic development committee will make a decision on the best proposal based on how much each bidder is requesting in city money and the economic and community impact.

Here’s how the soccer fields and concert venues’ financial requests look compared to other bidders:

QC East at Eastland Yards

QC East is requesting $30 million in public investment and plans to gather $53 million from private entities.

Aquatic center

Charlotte-based Bucci Development requested $35-$45 million in public funding for a 13-acre aquatics center expected to cost $50 million.

Racket sports

Charlotte-based nonprofit Carolina Serves proposed building a racket sports facility with more than 80 courts on 23.7 acres with a collegiate and professional spectator complex. The nonprofit expects to raise $15 million privately and asked for for $45 million in public money in its initial proposal.

Target

Retailer giant Target has proposed building a $35 million, 148,000-square-foot store on the Eastland Yards site and requested no public funding.

Bucci Development, Carolina Serves and Target are all expected to present a new proposal to the city’s economic development committee Monday. The meeting will be streamed on the city’s YouTube channel at 2 p.m.