City Council approves extension on Marshall Park deadline

CHARLOTTE – The City Council on Monday night voted to give Mecklenburg County another couple of months to find a buyer for Marshall Park, further convoluting the future of the property in uptown’s 2nd Ward.

The county, in a years-old interlocal agreement with the city, agreed to sell the land no later than June 1 to Charlotte-based Spectrum Properties, or risk transferring the land back to the city at no cost. Spectrum, which wanted Marshall Park to develop a large, mixed-used project called Brooklyn Village, failed to buy the land by that deadline. Marshall Park is a 6.5-acre piece of land on East Third Street. Spectrum was set to pay $18.9 million for the land.

The county still believes it can sell the land to developers and asked the city to grant an extension to Oct. 1 to give the county more time to find a potential buyer. According to the amendment, however, the county may consider selling the land in separate parcels.

City Council approved the amendment to the agreement, granting the extension. As it now stands, the county – with help from the city, the Charlotte Housing Authority and the Board of Education – has until Oct. 1 to work out the details of the phased-sale approach. If the county is unable to reach an agreement, it may be required to give the land back to the city.

No sale of the property can be completed without another amendment to the agreement, or an altogether new interlocal agreement.