For Charlotte residents, the years of delays have also raised questions about taxpayer money.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A major Charlotte development project is now at the center of a legal battle.
Mecklenburg County is suing B-K Partners and the developers behind Brooklyn Village, accusing them of failing to meet key deadlines for the long-planned Second Ward redevelopment.
Brooklyn Village was proposed nearly a decade ago as a major transformation of the area. The project was planned to include affordable housing, mixed-use retail and office space, public open spaces and new infrastructure.
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Mecklenburg County and B-K Partners signed a Master Redevelopment Agreement in 2018. But the county says the project has largely sat untouched since 2016.
According to the county’s lawsuit, the developers failed to meet deadlines for demolition and construction. The county says construction, which was supposed to begin by July 2025, has not started.
The lawsuit also says the developers blamed asbestos in the old Board of Education building for delays.
A 2018 environmental assessment warned about the likely presence of asbestos-containing materials and said additional testing would be needed. The county says the developers knew about the potential for asbestos as early as 2018, during the project’s due diligence process.
Still, according to the county, there was no inspection done for asbestos or lead.
Last August, Don Peebles, chairman and CEO of Peebles Corporation, said the county was focused on tearing down the old building instead of moving forward with the first phase of the project.
“The county is advocating and demanding we tear that building down and it’s puzzling to me because what we should be doing is focusing on Phase 1 forward with the affordable housing,” Peebles said.
The developer did not respond to WCNC Charlotte’s request for comment on the lawsuit.
For Charlotte residents, the years of delays have also raised questions about taxpayer money.
“Wow. Y’all burning up our tax money,” Charlotte resident Dean Judy said.
Judy said he has seen projects where streets are repeatedly dug up, adding that it makes residents question how their tax dollars are being spent.
“I have seen them work on streets over and over again – digging up the same place. So when you see that, you ride by and the first thing you say is – that’s our tax money going to waste,” Judy said.
Mecklenburg County is now asking the court to declare that it can terminate B-K Partners’ rights to Phases Two and Three of the Brooklyn Village project.
The lawsuit is now moving forward in court.