September 5th 2023.
A tragic piece of Charlotte's Black history is set to be destroyed. The iconic Walton Plaza building that has been a part of the Queen City skyline for decades is being torn down, according to the Charlotte Observer. The building was the first Black-developed property of its kind between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, and it has been the professional home to some of Charlotte's finest citizens, such as Julius Chambers and Harvey Gantt.
The demolition of the building has drawn mixed reactions. Developer BK Partners has announced plans to build a new property called Brooklyn Village in its place. The new development will include 1,243 residential units, at least 114 of which are designated as affordable, as well as office and retail space, hotel rooms, and 2.5 acres of open space and park.
When Walton Plaza was built in the early 1970s, it was an act of defiance in a racially polarized time. Mel Watt, the attorney and congressman, led the real estate project. Gantt, who was the city's former mayor, leased space there for his architecture firm for many years. Gantt recalled that, "It was a first-class space and there was a good measure of accomplishment to see this succeeding."
Tragically, Walton Plaza was the site of racial trauma in 1971, when someone firebombed Chambers' law office, days before Chambers and Westside Associates won a bid to build East Independence Plaza. Despite the tragedy, the building survived and continued to thrive over the years.
In early August 2023, BK Partners LLC purchased the property from Mecklenburg County for $10.3 million. The new owners are The Peebles Corporation, a New York-based African-American-owned company, and the Charlotte-based Conformity Corporation. Donahue Peebles III, EVP of Peebles Corp, said that the group acknowledges the history of the land, but they are also looking forward to something new. He said, "Our focus has always been on paying homage to the vibrancy that was historic Brooklyn... something that could approximate what was the city's main district for Black people."
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