Eastland project breaks ground + Robinhood closes Charlotte office

KJ Edelman

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There’s a lot of news on this busy Wednesday afternoon. Scroll down for the latest, including a concert review of Kendrick Lamar’s performance in Charlotte last night.

1. Eastland Mall groundbreaking the ‘start of a lot more to come’ with $175M project

Charlotte City Council members toss dirt into the air Wednesday to mark the start of construction on Eastland Yards. The $175 million project will transform the old Eastland Mall site into a mixed-use development.
Charlotte City Council members toss dirt into the air Wednesday to mark the start of construction on Eastland Yards. The $175 million project will transform the old Eastland Mall site into a mixed-use development.

The lede of Gordon Rago’s dispatch from the Eastland project’s groundbreaking sums up what may be the end of this saga: “No Tepper, no problem.”

Construction is finally underway as of Wednesday afternoon. And the project has a new name: Eastland Yards.

For years, the city-owned land has sat vacant. A skate park was built on the site and vendors previously set up a flea market on weekends. Tepper, the billionaire sports owner, recently pulled out of the $175 million redevelopment project, but now construction crews will begin transforming the empty site into a mixed-use project led by Crosland Southeast.

Among some of the names in attendance for the groundbreaking: Mayor Vi Lyles, councilman Matt Newton and county commissioner Mark Jerrell. You can find more here.

2. Robinhood closes Charlotte office amid new round of layoffs. It opened just last year.

In this Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, photo, Robinhood co-founders Vlad Tenev, left, and Baiju Bhatt pose at company headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. Robinhood is a stock brokerage that does not charge any commissions for its more than 1 million customers to buy and sell shares. “During the next 10 years, we are going to create an international company that will be like nothing the financial services industry has ever seen,” says Bhatt.

Robinhood has suffered its second round of layoffs since April. As part of its restructuring, its Charlotte office is also shutting down, company spokesman Casey Becker said.

The office — which opened just last year in a tower on S. Tryon Street — served as a customer support and account operations center. Robinhood previously said the Charlotte location would have at least 150 employees and could potentially expand to 250.

“Employees in Charlotte who remain with Robinhood will begin working under our work-from-anywhere model,” Becker said.

How many layoffs will happen nationwide? Blake Douglas has the details.

3. Traffic headache in South End should last a few more weeks as water main project nears end

Shown is the intersection of South Boulevard and East Tremont Avenue in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, where the final phase of a utility project that has snarled traffic for two years is underway.
Shown is the intersection of South Boulevard and East Tremont Avenue in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, where the final phase of a utility project that has snarled traffic for two years is underway.

A two-year water main project in South End isn’t finished just yet, leaving obstacles in place for drivers in the area.

The project’s team will switch South Boulevard southbound traffic to the middle of the road between the barrier walls and close West Tremont Avenue. The road closure will remain until late September. The project started at the intersection of Scaleybark and Old Pineville roads and has moved northeast toward South End.

Read more from Jonathan Limehouse.

4. Once a Charlotte hotel, The Rise welcomes its first tenants into affordable apartments

The former Quality Inn hotel near Clanton Road and Interstate 77 in Charlotte, NC, has been transformed into SECU The Rise on Clanton, an apartment complex for people who are chronically homeless, according to Roof Above.
The former Quality Inn hotel near Clanton Road and Interstate 77 in Charlotte, NC, has been transformed into SECU The Rise on Clanton, an apartment complex for people who are chronically homeless, according to Roof Above.

The Rise, previously a Quality Inn, has been converted into an affordable apartment complex that will house 88 individuals.

It’s the city’s first “adaptive reuse,” permanent supportive housing, an approach that renovates unused buildings for new functions, non-profit Roof Above said in a news release. Among The Rise’s 88 tenants are 10 who were displaced from the North End Encampment in February 2021, known as “Tent City.”

Work to renovate the former hotel rooms into apartments with kitchens began in May 2021. The complex also will provide case managers, a full-time nurse, a “learning lab” and community spaces.

Tenants will spend 30% of their income on rent, in addition to utility costs, Roof Above said. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Coordinated Entry process will select the most vulnerable individuals in need of housing for the apartment.

Charlotte Kramon has the story.

5. Some more stories to read

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KJ Edelman is an Audience Growth Producer for The Charlotte Observer & Rock Hill Herald
KJ Edelman is an Audience Growth Producer for The Charlotte Observer & Rock Hill Herald

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