CHARLOTTE, N.C.--Signatures and smiles for some of the members of the Studio Charlotte Development team Friday afternoon after submitting their redevelopment proposal for Eastland Mall. "It really is a destination for creative people to work, to live, to create," said Studio Charlotte Development's Bert Hesse.
In new renderings of Central Avenue Pictures, the $150 million dollar plan includes sound stages, possibly managed by Screen Gems. Office and retails space built by a developer that has worked with NASA and Disney. An entertainment complex surrounded by a stream from an aquifer on the property. An educational complex that includes a new CMS campus. Film schools run by local universities. And room for a new non-profit called the Youthful Energy Foundation."The majority of the money, people forget about it, is behind the camera. So, we want to make sure the kids understand the tools that are available to them behind the scenes," said Youthful Energy Foundation President Nathan Summers.
They promised the second act for the shuttered mall will mean hands on experience. "If you give an opportunity to a young person at an earlier age, then they have something they can build on the resume," said Youthful Energy Foundation CEO Donna Reed.
Studio Charlotte Development is hoping to add an "A-List" actor to its Board of Directors and break ground this fall. "Everything is in place. We just hope the city realizes that and decides to move forward with it," said Hesse.
Studio Charlotte Development is one of the proposals. The city has not yet released how many others were submitted. Charlotte spent $13.2 million dollars to purchase the Eastland Mall site last August.
