Auction for uptown Charlotte’s EpiCentre suddenly postponed

CHARLOTTE — The auction of the EpiCentre in uptown Charlotte has been put on hold.

About a dozen buyers were ready Thursday to try to turn the ill-fated spot into something successful. But now, the future of the EpiCentre will remain up in the air for another few months as the scheduled auction was suddenly postponed.

No photos or video were allowed inside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse Thursday morning, but Channel 9′s Joe Bruno was there when the substitute trustee arrived to tell everyone that no sale would happen Thursday.

The new auction date is set for July 26 at 10 a.m. The substitute trustee couldn’t comment on why everything was postponed.

About a dozen or so potential buyers were on hand Thursday. One of them was Duncan Anderson. He said he was prepared to get into a bidding war for the uptown site if the price was right.

“We are willing to battle to the top of it, if it was reasonable if it made sense,” he said.

Anderson declined to say how high he would go or what his future plans for the spot would be. But he said his vision is family-friendly.

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“The vision was to create a family atmosphere where it brings everybody back together,” Anderson said. “So it really re-sprouts some of the restaurants and reboots some of the restaurants that are already there. Maybe drop in some new restaurants, but the biggest thing is to create a family atmosphere with everything going on.”

Auctions delays are not unusual, Heather Culp, a bankruptcy attorney who is not involved with the EpiCentre, said. According to Culp, the substitute trustee may postpone a foreclosure sale to a date no later than 90 days after the original sale date for five different reasons. One of those reasons is “when other good cause exists.”

“This is so broad that the lender can request that the substitute trustee postpone the sale for just about any reason,” Culp said.

Culp has no direct knowledge of the sale or the reasons for its postponement but offered several possible explanations.

“To allow more time to work out a resolution with the borrower, such as a deferment or forbearance of the loan,” she said. “And to allow time to work out a deal with a third party, such as a third party taking an assignment of the loan in exchange for payment.”

What was once one of the hottest places to go out in Charlotte is now a shell of its former self. Only a few businesses remain.

“I was here when it first opened, it was the bomb for the minute but everything has its time,” resident Onesi Mos said.

The potential buyer would have to pay in cash and would get the property as-is. There’s also a 10 day period following the auction where people can place upset bids. There will be a minimum bid. The substitute trustee declined to disclose it.

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