Eastland Mall was a shopping mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. The center opened on July 30, 1975, as the then-largest mall in North Carolina with three anchor department stores, Belk, J.C. Penney, and Ivey's. A Sears, Roebuck and Company store joined four years later. The mall was owned by Glimcher Realty Trust and the City of Charlotte. Glimcher requested the mall be put into receivership due to heavy debt, and there were reports of the mall entering foreclosure. LNR sold the interior space in the mall to Boxer Properties of Houston for $2 million. It ceased operations on June 30, 2010, and was purchased by the city of Charlotte from Boxer Properties, and the owners of the vacant anchors in hopes of selling it to a developer. After its takeover, the mall was maintained by the city of Charlotte. By a 10–1 vote on May 28, 2013, the Charlotte city council formally voted to demolish the mall for $871,520, as possible developers stated they had no use for the building. A large percentage of materials were recycled or preserved, including the mall's four entrance signs which will become part of a public art exhibit. Demolition began on October 1, 2013. The Eastland Community Transit Center, a planned stop on the LYNX Rapid Transit Services Center City Corridor, is in the parking lot at the mall. A thriving mall: 1975–1990s Development began on a shopping center in east Charlotte in the early 1970s after seeing the success of SouthPark Mall about 6 miles (10 km) away. Henry Faison, the developer, recalls planning the mall with a team of only six people. On July 30, 1975, Eastland Mall opened to much fanfare as the biggest mall in North Carolina at that time. Eastland Mall had an ice skating rink and the first food court in North Carolina. The food court was the East Coast's first in-mall food court at the time. Additionally, the mall included an outparcel convenience center with a Harris Teeter grocery store. Miller & Rhoads had a small specialty store at the mall, which was closed in 1986. In the early 1990s, Ivey's became Dillard's and the store expanded, and the mall's interior was renovated and updated as well. Decline: 1990s–2010 Demographic changes By the late 1990s, Eastland Mall's image and physical appearance began to degrade. Adding to the retail shift in Charlotte, demographic changes to the surrounding areas