The following article appeared in the 10/22/24 edition of The Charlotte Observer:
Makeover of former Asian Corner Mall site in Sugar Creek now includes townhomes
By Desiree Mathurin
The exterior of Asian Corner Mall on North Tryon Street. ALEX CASON CharlotteFive
Townhomes are coming to the corner of East Sugar Creek Road and Greensboro Street near the now-shuttered Asian Corner Mall in the Sugar Creek, NoDa and Eastway area, the developer announced Tuesday.
Over 180 townhomes will be built on 11 acres in the southern portion of the former Asian grocery complex, announced Beauxwright, the development and real estate investment firm that purchased the property in 2022.
The townhomes will be part of Beauxwright’s Sugar Yards, a mixed-use and multiphase project that’s part of the overall redevelopment of that chunk of Charlotte, which is centered by Lynx’s Blue Line Sugar Creek Station.
Beauxwright’s website described the area as “a heavily industrial corridor” that is now changing into a transit-oriented development site.
Tuan Nguyen of Le’s Sandwiches. Alex Cason CharlotteFive
Some other changes at the site include the reopening of Le’s Sandwiches, the popular bánh mì spot that has called that area home since 2004. It reopened last year across from the mall.
And on the opposite side of East Sugar Creek, an Atlanta developer, Third & Urban, is building a 335-unit apartment complex.
WHAT’S THE ASIAN CORNER MALL?
The strip mall started as Tryon Mall in the late 1960s. In the early 2000’s it became the Asian Corner Mall, a hub for the Southeast Asian community.
It was less clothing mall and more food hall, anchored by International Supermarket, one of the state’s largest Asian markets, and New Century, another Asian grocer.
Inside, the mall offered a plethora of Southeast Asian ingredients and cuisine.
The center of the Asian Corner Mall, 4250 N. Tryon St., which closed in 2022. It will now be home to over 180 townhomes. Alex Cason CharlotteFive
But the building fell into disarray. Store leases came to an end and Beauxwright purchased the property in 2022.
The developer has been quiet about its plans for the site but has noted that it includes housing, office and retail space.
HOUSING IS NOW A DEFINITE AT FORMER MALL SITE
Quiet no more, at least partially, Beauxwright announced that it would be working with Copper Builders and Toll Brothers to bring townhomes to the site.
It’ll be a phased project with two separate townhome “neighborhoods”, according to a news release.
First, Toll Brothers will construct 119 three-story townhomes. The homes will have either three- to four-bedrooms and 3.5 to 4.5 baths, along with rooftop terraces.
Copper will build 67 for-rent townhomes. It’s unclear if any of the housing will have an affordability component.