After a long stretch of vacancy at one of Eastover’s most recognizable corners, Charlotte City Council has signed off on a rezoning that clears the way for a full mixed-use reboot of the old Manor Theatre shopping center on Providence Road. Eastern Federal Corporation is teaming up with Dallas-based StreetLights Residential on a plan that would swap the shuttered Regal Manor Twin and its neighboring storefronts for new apartments built over ground-floor retail, a setup meant to knit the property into a more walkable stretch of the corridor.
The council’s vote approves a rezoning petition that project filings and local coverage say would allow roughly 120 to 130 residential units and about 35,000 square feet of retail on the site, according to the Charlotte Business Journal. Developers are pitching the project as a neighborhood-center style conversion that puts housing, restaurants, and shops in a single, walkable block.
What Council Approved
According to City of Charlotte rezoning documents (Rezoning Petition No. 2026-003), the request shifts about 0.84 acres at 524 Fenton Place from OFC (Office Flex Campus) to NC (Neighborhood Center) with tier-1 conditional development standards attached. The filing and its supporting materials describe the change as a targeted move meant to bring that slice of the overall property in line with the preferred neighborhood-center place type already mapped for the larger tract.
Developers’ Plan and Local Context
The project team, Eastern Federal and the Meiselman family company that opened the Manor in 1947 along with StreetLights Residential out of Dallas, is branding the redevelopment as “The Manor.” The concept calls for a mix of rental and for-sale homes stacked above ground-floor restaurants and retail, according to The Charlotte Observer. The Observer and other local reports point out that the Regal Manor Twin closed in 2020, leaving a very visible dead zone on Providence Road that the development team says this project is meant to repair.
Neighbors and Next Steps
Before filing the rezoning request, developers held a virtual community meeting along with multiple conversations with nearby condo associations and neighborhood leaders. They have said they plan to work with existing tenants on relocation as the redevelopment moves forward. Local reporting notes that some current businesses on the block, including a Starbucks and several smaller retailers, have been told to expect notice and relocation assistance, and that, assuming the permit process does not bog down, the team is targeting a 2027 construction start, according to The Charlotte Ledger.
Design Details and Approvals to Watch
The rezoning site plan and development standards filed with the city allow building heights up to 80 feet on the newly zoned parcel and outline a mix of at-grade and partially buried parking, an internal street, and outdoor dining areas to support a pedestrian-focused retail base, per the City of Charlotte. Those standards are written to give the development team flexibility on massing and parking design while still requiring buffers that are intended to shield nearby residences.
Council’s decision removes the biggest zoning obstacle, but a full slate of approvals still stands between the concept art and demolition equipment. Unified site-plan review, building permits, and formal tenant relocation agreements will all have to be locked in before any walls come down or foundations go in. For neighbors and curious passersby, the next key signals will come with detailed site-plan submissions and the city’s public-hearing calendar, which will show how this long-idle corner is set to transform from rezoning win to active construction site.
