CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Some of the city’s largest employers are bringing workers back to the office and businesses are seeing pre-pandemic crowds. As we start seeing more buzz in the Queen City, the future of one former hot spot remains uncertain.
We’re talking about the fate of Charlotte’s Epicentre Complex. On Monday, a foreclosure hearing was held in Mecklenburg County Superior Court regarding what’s next.
The hub opened in 2008 and quickly became a popular dining and shopping spot in uptown Charlotte. Now, it’s a ghost town. Current owners have been failing financially for more than a year now.
On Monday, the bank that the owners have been borrowing money from to pay for the property have been approved by the court to foreclose on the uptown Charlotte property.
Last spring, the Epicentre owners defaulted on their $85 million loan with Deutsche Bank. Shortly after, the bank filed a complaint with the North Carolina business court and a receiver was appointed to oversee the management of the property.
The latest report shows fewer than one-third of the complex’s 50 spaces are occupied.
On Monday, an attorney representing the Epicentre said they have no opposition for the motion to foreclose and were there to observe.
“We are prepared to move forward with the foreclosure, you should have some foreclosure pleadings and documents that we delivered earlier today. I don’t believe that that defendant has contented any type of service issues. In view of that, we are prepared to move forward with the evidentiary component of the hearing,” Attorney James Pulliam said.
The biggest question now is what is going to happen to the Epicentre? The attorney representing the investment bank said they will address a notice of sale at a different time.
“It’s definitely a sad day I think for Charlotte and the Uptown area. I think that hopefully an investor will come and turn it around, it will be a risk but at the same time, with the growth in Charlotte, it can definitely be turned around,” Uptown worker Perrell Bess said.
