The following article appeared in the 9/13/22 edition of The Charlotte Observer:
Charlotte developer now owns large share of Asian Corner Mall in fast-growing area
By Gordon Rago and Catherine Muccigrosso
The Asian Corner Mall sits along North Tryon Street and East Sugar Creek Road. A Charlotte real estate investment and development firm purchased at least part of the mall last week as well as nearby land for $8.5 million, property records show.
A Charlotte real estate investment and development firm now owns a significant share of the Asian Corner Mall, but what its next steps are for the property remain unclear.
Beauxwright bought just shy of 10 acres for $8.5 million last week, according to Mecklenburg County property records reviewed by The Charlotte Observer.
The site is surrounded by fast-paced development.
The light rail’s Sugar Creek station is less than a mile to the south. NoDa is a short drive away. To the east, the newly-opened Amelie’s bakery is a short trip down North Tryon along with new apartments going up and plenty of office and retail development coming to North End.
Beauxwright’s latest purchase now brings the firm’s ownership of mall property to a little over 11 acres for a cost of $10.2 million or about 40% of the mall site. The property totals around 27 acres, an Observer review of parcel data show.
One of the new parcels Beauxwright bought is at 4520 N. Tryon St., and includes at least part of the mall building. The other parcel is at 301 E. Sugar Creek Road, an undeveloped lot that faces the street. ‘
What the purchases mean for the future of the mall near the northeastern edge of NoDa is not yet known.
Beauxwright does not own two parcels totaling 14 acres on the north and south of the property, which appear to include the mall building. Beauxwright is not ready to comment on the sale or its plans for the site, spokeswoman Dee Grano told The Charlotte Observer. But she said the company is excited about the momentum in the area, and it intends to share more details about the site early next year.
The previous owners of the mall who sold to Beauxwright, as well as an owner of a parcel that includes another part of the mall, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
The inside of the Asian Corner Mall has been around since at least the early- to mid-2000s.
THE CHARLOTTE MALL’S HISTORY
The mall dates back to least the early to mid-2000s, according to Observer archives.
It was formerly known as Tryon Mall and came to house two of Charlotte’s largest Asian supermarkets: International Supermarket and New Century Oriental Food Supermarket. They offered Asian ingredients from Indonesia and the Philippines and sold fish in big tanks.
References to the mall often mention its pot-hole filled parking lot. A trio of sisters started International Supermarket in the early 2000s, helping to revive the old mall, according to Observer archives.
It became one of the largest Asian markets in North Carolina, drawing customers from as far as Wilmington.
International Supermarket anchors the mall today. The mall has 76,025 square feet of leasable space, according to real estate management company Bell Moore Group’s website.
Le’s Sandwiches & Cafe, a mall tenant since 2004, said in the spring that the banh mi shop would not renew its lease and planned to move, CharlotteFive reported. The lease ended in July but the owners plan to remain there until their new, undisclosed location is ready.
The Asian Corner Mall, which sits along North Tryon Street, pictured in March. There are now questions about the future of the mall given a recent sale of a portion of the property to a local real estate investment and development firm.
DEVELOPER PURCHASED NEARBY BUILDINGS
Last week’s purchase follows two others that Beauxwright made in the immediate area last year.
The firm bought two outparcel buildings on 1.25 acres in front of the mall for a total of $1.7 million last fall, property records show. The vacant buildings are at 217 and 225 East Sugar Creek Road.
In March, Grano told the Observer plans there were not yet firm.
ABOUT BEAUXWRIGHT Since 2013, Beauxwright has spent around $325 million on 19 developments, ranging from office and mixed use to apartments, according to its website. That includes 1900 W. Morehead Street in the popular FreeMoreWest area. The project converted a 1950s-era building into modern office space. The developer also was behind the 91-unit apartment building called The Langston in Elizabeth as well as 300 Optimist Park, a 48-unit apartment building close to NoDa.