Brooklyn Village is a 17 acres (6.9 ha) development in Uptown Charlotte that broke ground in Fall 2023.

[3][1] It is paying tribute to a former black neighborhood in the Second Ward of Uptown that was demolished in the 1960s as part of an urban renewal campaign.

A major step towards the development of Brooklyn came when W.R. Myers donated land in Second Ward to build the city's first black grade school.

Their business model was based on the idea of economic self-sufficiency made popular by black leaders Booker T. Washington and W.E.B.

Part of Smith's reputation was for performing the brick work for Grace A.M.E. Zion Church built in 1902.

These business owners were leaving downtown to relocate to main street in Brooklyn, which was a few blocks away from their prior locations.

By the 190s Brooklyn had black restaurants, drugstores, barbers, shoemakers, hairdressers, undertakers, the Palace movie theater.

Charlotte Observer staff writer Joe Doster in January 1960 wrote an editorial about his view of the current state of Brooklyn and how it could benefit the city to clear the parts within it he believed were slums.

[10] Also, in October 1962 the Charlotte Redevelopment Commission won a court case to allow for the demolition of 44 houses without condemnation.

The houses were basically identical consisting of 912 square feet and the properties likely dated back to the 1930s.

A big sign of the decay of the area was the federal government would not approve any loans for Brooklyn home owners.

Today only four Brooklyn buildings exist they are the Mecklenburg Investment Company Building (MICo) at 229 S Brevard Street,[8] Studio 229, Grace A.M.E. Zion Church at 229 S Brevard Street[16] and Second Ward High School Gymnasium at 710 E Martin Luther King Jr.

[18][19][16] It is composed of nine small businesses and nonprofits whose mission it is to bring the spirit of Brooklyn back to Charlotte.

[8] Charlotte author and historian Pamela Grundy describes the anger many people feel towards Brooklyn being destroyed.

"[8] Local news outlet Axios Charlotte wrote an article detailing from a firsthand perspective the loss many Brooklyn residents experienced as a result of the neighborhood being demolished.

[20] Many critics of the government's urban renewal programs in the 1960s called it "negro removal", which comes from a quote from James Baldwin.

Critics also point to the Charlotte Observer's series of articles as part of the campaign to classify Brooklyn as a "slum".

The Axios Charlotte article states to receive federal funding the area had to be legally considered a slum.

Willie Griffin, assistant professor of public history at UNC Charlotte claimed that half of all Brooklyn residents owned their homes.

Monte Ritchey, head of Conformity Corp., told the Charlotte Observer in August 2016 "It is a tragic thing, by my estimation.

[21] In June 2016 Mecklenburg County commissioners voted to begin negotiations with the real estate partnership BK Partners.

[3] In August 2016 BK Partners held its first public meeting to outline the plan for Brooklyn Village.

The first phase will be built upon the 5.7 acres (2.3 ha) site of the former Walton Plaza, which will be divided into six separate parcels.

In September 2019 it was decided that BK Partners must close on the first piece of land within 18 months after the due diligence period is completed.

Which could be risky since a lot of companies are scaling back their office space due to so many employees working from home.

The challenge with this project is BK Partners is contractual obligated to deliver such a massive development even if the hotel and office markets are not favorable.

[26] In February 2025, Peebles proposed reducing the amount of the apartment buildings by 50%, citing an inability to attract financing.

Some of the building's early tenants included prominent Civil Rights lawyer Julius Chambers, a regional office of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, former Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt’s architecture firm, and several practices of black doctors.

Country commissioner Bob Walton's prior accusation of sexually assaulting an 18-year male made it a controversial name.

Mel Watt, the initial developer of the building, views the demolition with mixed emotions.