{"id":3424,"date":"2026-07-18T12:04:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424"},"modified":"2026-07-18T12:04:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T12:04:02","slug":"excelsior-club-demolished-in-west-charlotte-as-another-historic-building-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424","title":{"rendered":"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls"},"content":{"rendered":"

The historic Excelsior Club<\/a> is no more.<\/p>\n

Demolition of the iconic Excelsior Club in west Charlotte<\/a> began Wednesday, signaling the final chapter for a structure that has sat vacant and decaying for a decade. By Thursday morning, only the awning was still standing amid the rubble, as passersby gawked and cars slowed down to survey what had happened.<\/p>\n

Read more UCPS says viral video about Marvin Ridge American flag denial is a misunderstanding<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOh my gosh, they\u2019re finally tearing it down,\u201d said Kendra Byrd of Charlotte, a customer at Designer Beauty Clinic next door. \u201cA lot of history there for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The demolition clears the path for an $8.3 million redevelopment project<\/a> intended to resurrect the historic landmark, which currently sits with a collapsing roof and significant structural failure.<\/p>\n

Once a landmark that served as Charlotte\u2019s prominent sanctuary for Black nightlife<\/a> during the segregation and civil rights eras, the Excelsior Club now stands as a lost piece of history after a decade without use. Despite failed plans and attempts to resurrect the club, along with debates about saving the building, the structure itself could not be saved.<\/p>\n

The new Excelsior Club is expected to open in early 2028, once again serving as a \u201clighthouse on Beatties Ford Road,\u201d the developer has said.<\/p>\n

Owner Kenwood Investments filed the plans to raze the building<\/a> at 921 Beatties Ford Road<\/a> on June 18, according to city records. Because the site is a designated historic landmark, the request had to undergo a mandatory zoning inspection to ensure the demolition is appropriate under local preservation guidelines, the filing shows.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1944 by Jimmie and Minnie McKee, the Excelsior Club was once a cornerstone of Black culture in Charlotte<\/a>. During the Jim Crow era, it was a private club and listed in \u201cThe Negro Motorist Green Book\u201d from 1963 to 1967 as a safe haven for Black travelers.<\/p>\n

To honor that legacy, developer Shawn Kennedy held a \u201cCelebration of Life\u201d<\/a> event in May at nearby First Baptist Church-West, allowing the community to reflect on the club\u2019s historical significance.<\/p>\n

Kennedy of Kennedy Properties & Development, based in Charlotte, gained control of the site just over a year ago.<\/p>\n

His vision with partner Tim Sittema of Crosland Southeast is to return live music and dining to the corridor. Unlike previous failed attempts, such as Kenwood\u2019s boutique hotel, music venue and museum<\/a> proposal that floundered in 2024 due to parking shortages<\/a>, the current team has the necessary parking to move forward with the building in the same footprint.<\/p>\n

Engineering assessments deemed the century-old structure unsalvageable, Kennedy has said. He plans to construct a near-replica of the building.<\/p>\n

The new Excelsior Club will feature a restaurant and rooftop seating. In a nod to its community roots, the facility will offer live entertainment and free meeting space for local nonprofits, West Charlotte High School and Johnson C. Smith University.<\/p>\n

The $8.3 million project is supported by $3 million in public funding<\/a>, split evenly between the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The developers are contributing $2.3 million specifically for the restaurant operations.<\/p>\n

Kennedy said last month that while most of the capital is secured, a $300,000 funding gap<\/a> remains to be filled.<\/p>\n

Read more Honeywell Technologies completes first acquisition after spin-offs for $1.8B<\/a><\/p>\n

The decision to demolish has sparked tension with local preservationists and historians.<\/p>\n

Organizations like the Charlotte Museum of History have argued for saving the original building. Museum CEO Terri White argued that the original building should be saved<\/a>, citing Charlotte\u2019s \u201chorrible reputation of tearing things down<\/a>\u201d as a cycle that must be broken.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will ask Charlotte when is enough enough? We bemoan the loss of our local history, yet it seems every few months something else gets torn down,\u201d White said. \u201cWe must decide if we truly want to save the scraps of historic architecture we have left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t cheer projects like the (refurbished) Carolina Theatre<\/a> and not see the direct correlation between history and the soul of a community. When you see firsthand how amazing adaptive reuse and historic preservation can be, why allow everything to get bulldozed?\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s vision involved a $20 million to 25 million rehabilitation project to restore the existing two-story structure and add a connecting Black History Center focused on regional history.<\/p>\n

However, the demolition project has received an endorsement from former owner Ken Koontz, who described the redevelopment as a \u201cbold\u201d and \u201cright\u201d direction for the property\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

After its founding during World War II, the club was a political and social hub of the community, with legendary musicians performing there like Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole.<\/p>\n

On Jan. 20, 2009, the club was packed as the Charlotte community gathered<\/a> to watch the inaugural ceremony together on a wide-screen the inaugural ceremony for Barack Obama as the first U.S. Black president.<\/p>\n

But in 2016 as business was declining, Excelsior closed for repairs and never reopened.<\/p>\n

After Excelsior Club was added in 2019 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation\u2019s list of 11 most endangered historic places, Darius Anderson of Kenwood Investments in California purchased the club for $1.35 million.<\/p>\n

Kenwood received $250,000 in funds from the city, county, Foundation for the Carolinas and Knight Foundation in funding for the project, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.<\/p>\n

But Kenwood, which still owns the property, needed 120 to 125 parking spots to move the plan forward, Anderson said in May 2023 during a community meeting. The project was still 15 to 20 parking spaces short, even after purchasing two lots behind the club in 2022 for $325,000.<\/p>\n

Architecturally, the building was one of the last remaining Art Moderne-style structures in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Read more Wake Forest aims to find \u2018best version\u2019 of Gio Lopez after disappointing UNC stint<\/a><\/p>\n

Demolition typically takes about five days to complete, Kennedy said Thursday.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 10:50 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

West Charlotte landmark Excelsior Club on Beatties Ford Road demolition has begun to clear path for $8.3 million redevelopment of historic Black nightlife site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nExcelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"West Charlotte landmark Excelsior Club on Beatties Ford Road demolition has begun to clear path for $8.3 million redevelopment of historic Black nightlife site.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-18T12:04:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-18T12:04:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424\"},\"wordCount\":969,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424\",\"name\":\"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-18T12:04:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674,\"caption\":\"The Excelsior Club on Beatties Ford Road stands in ruins as demoliton nears completion in Charlotte on Thursday, July 16, 2026.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=3424#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"West Charlotte landmark Excelsior Club on Beatties Ford Road demolition has begun to clear path for $8.3 million redevelopment of historic Black nightlife site.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-07-18T12:04:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls","datePublished":"2026-07-18T12:04:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424"},"wordCount":969,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424","name":"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-18T12:04:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/534cf5c1361860a804dde29016eb435e.jpg","width":1200,"height":674,"caption":"The Excelsior Club on Beatties Ford Road stands in ruins as demoliton nears completion in Charlotte on Thursday, July 16, 2026."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3424#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Excelsior Club demolished in west Charlotte, as another historic building falls"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}