Charlotte's east side is gearing up for change (free version)

Plus: County posts job for new county manager; Brighthouse Financial said to be exploring sale; Reader question on CMS pay raises; City Council applauds at news it won't raise taxes

Jan 29, 2025

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, January 29, 2025. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

Today’s Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by Robinson Bradshaw, an esteemed Carolinas-based corporate law firm committed to providing clients with comprehensive legal services of the highest quality.

Editor’s note: This is a shorter, free version of The Charlotte Ledger sent to people on our free sign-up list. The complete version for paying members went out 15 minutes ago. It included:

The full article on how leaders on Charlotte’s east side are preparing for the increased visbility and development associated with the big Eastland Yards project. We talked to residents and business leaders.
An update on the search to replace County Manager Dena Diorio, who is retiring at the end of June. The county commissioners chairman discussed the search at a forum on Monday. We were there.
News that one of Charlotte’s largest public companies, Brighthouse Financial, might be sold — and what the fallout for Charlotte might be.
A response to a reader question about pay raises at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. We regularly answer reader questions.
Ledger members also received Tuesday’s Ways of Life obituaries newsletter, which this week examined the life of Hendrix Hough of Charlotte, the sound engineer at Smokey Joe’s Cafe on Monroe Road. Nicknamed “Hooter,” he’s described by friends as a hard-working perfectionist who loved Godzilla movies. He found his place in a crowded old bar where more than music filled his soul.

Some media in Charlotte have settled on a strategy of rewriting press releases, hyping events and gushing over new restaurants. That’s fine, but that’s not our approach. We think Charlotte is made better when residents here understand important issues. That’s why we hire experienced reporters to go out into the community and find interesting and important stories and share them with you.

Because we go to places that other reporters don’t and talk to a wide range of people, we’re able to go beneath the surface and provide information and insights about Charlotte that you won’t find anywhere else.

Our readers like our approach. About 4,000 of them receive the full version of our emails. Why not join them and be in-the-know about your community?

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‘East Side, Best Side’: As the Eastland Yards development gains steam in east Charlotte, the area’s community organizes for the future

Gina Stewart (left), executive director of VisArt Video and Cafe, will serve on the steering committee for the Greater Eastland Business District. Greg Asciutto (right) is executive director of CharlotteEAST and is heading up efforts to organize the business district.

by Cristina Bolling

For longtime east Charlotte resident Gina Stewart, the idea seemed relatively simple: She wanted a coffee shop close to home.

She’d managed the Common Market, so she had the know-how to open and operate a cafe. Eastway Crossing shopping center on Eastway Drive seemed like a good potential spot. But that was in 2015, and the shopping center was struggling with vacancies and rundown storefronts.

“There was plenty to choose from, and none of it was appealing,” Stewart recalls.

Fast-forward about 10 years, and good things have happened at Eastway Crossing.

The coffee shop that Stewart wanted to start has since opened and closed, but she’s now the executive director of the thriving nonprofit VisArt Video and Cafe at Eastway Crossing. Several longtime Plaza Midwood businesses, such as used bookstore Book Buyers and Tommy’s Pub, relocated to Eastway Crossing after being displaced from their homes in Plaza Midwood. New restaurants are opening there, and the storefronts are almost totally occupied.

Local leaders like Stewart point to Eastway Crossing as an example of the type of local-business-friendly momentum they want to see continue, as Charlotte’s east side is entering a transformative period.

East Charlotte is at the precipice of change, with construction underway at Eastland Yards, an 80-acre mixed-used development on the site of the former Eastland Mall that is expected to bring more visitors, attention and development to the area with apartments, a massive indoor sports facility, outdoor athletic fields and a county park.

Organizationally, a lot is happening on the east side, too.

A panel including (l-r) CharlotteEAST executive director Greg Asciutto; Raymond Canty of Bolton, Ivory, Cantey LLC; Robert Bolton of Bolton, Ivory, Canty LLC; and Brad Wylde, executive director of Charlotte Soccer Academy spoke Tuesday about what’s ahead at the Eastland Yards development in east Charlotte.

Help wanted: 2nd-largest N.C. county with robust economy seeks experienced equity-focused public-sector leader to be its county manager

The search is on for the next Mecklenburg County manager, with a search firm posting the job description and applications pouring in to replace retiring county manager Dena Diorio.

At an event Monday night, county commissioners chairman Mark Jerrell (right) gave an update on the search to replace outgoing County Manager Dena Diorio.

Report: Charlotte-based insurer Brighthouse Financial is putting itself on the market

Brighthouse Financial, one of Charlotte’s largest publicly traded companies, is said to be working with bankers to explore a sale.

Brighthouse, which is headquartered in Ballantyne, is an insurance and annuity company with about $4B in annual revenue. It was on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies in 2023 but dropped out of the top 500 in 2024.

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You Ask, We Answer: Does new CMS minimum wage include teacher assistants?

It’s time once again for “You Ask, We Answer,” the popular and intuitively named Ledger feature in which you, the reader, ask a question and we, The Ledger, answer it. We can unearth answers that Google and ChatGPT just don’t have.

Today’s question comes from Ledger reader Michael S., who wants to know about planned employee raises at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

Michael wrote:

Do you know if the CMS plan to raise minimum pay applies to anyone making less than $20/hour? I ask because many teacher assistants make less than $20/hour, and it would seem that if CMS is truly interested in pay equity, they would value the hardworking staff that are in the classrooms making a difference and helping the teachers with their students.

Michael, thanks for the question!

You might be interested in these Charlotte events

Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:

FEBRUARY 7: “Family Workshop: DIY Valentine,” 4:30-6:30 p.m., Arts+ Community Campus, 2304 The Plaza. Join Arts+ for a fun evening with activities for the whole family to enjoy, including creating handmade Valentine’s cards, making silly poems and singing songs all about love! $10 for children 3-12; free for adults and children 2 and under.

FEBRUARY 19 - APRIL 2: Civics 101, 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Government Center, 600 E. 4th St. Room 280. Never before has it been so important to be informed about local government and to understand how it works in North Carolina. Join the League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg for Civics 101, a premier source of insight into the structures of governance in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. The program consists of seven evening sessions, one evening per week. $50; free for students.

➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.

In brief

Airport worker killed: An American Airlines employee was killed Monday morning at Charlotte’s airport when he was struck by a vehicle near an airport gate. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are investigating. (Ledger online extra)
No city property tax hike this year: Staff with the city of Charlotte do not plan to recommend an increase in property taxes this year, city council members were told at their annual retreat on Monday. Council members applauded at the news. The council voted last year to raise property taxes. There is a city election this fall, with all council members and the mayor on the ballot. (Observer)
PowerSchool data breach: Three weeks after disclosing a data breach that exposed Social Security numbers, the student and teacher software company PowerSchool says it still doesn’t know the extent of the problem. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, whose students and parents use the software, said it has not been told the number of people affected. (WFAE)
Wells a step closer to asset cap removal: Wells Fargo said its consent order with federal regulators over its handling of auto loans and mortgages has ended, bringing the bank a step closer to the removal of its asset cap that restricts its growth. (Reuters)
New market at Phillips Place: Salted Melon Market & Eatery says it’s opening its third Charlotte location this spring, at Phillips Place in SouthPark. (Ledger LinkedIn)
Final monkey recaptured: The last of the 43 monkeys that escaped in November from a South Carolina research facility have been recovered. The CEO of the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, S.C., said the animals appeared to be in good health. (NPR)

Programming note: Ledger editor Tony Mecia appears as a guest on 90.7 WFAE at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on Thursdays for a discussion of the week’s local business news in the station’s “BizWorthy” segment. Audio and transcripts are also available online.

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