Carolina Theatre is on track for fall completion
Foundation for the Carolinas says the long-delayed project is on track — and shares photos 📸
The following article appeared in the March 11, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Carolina Theatre’s renovation is 85% complete and scheduled to be completed this fall; finished product ‘will be stunning and state of the art’
A view of the Carolina Theatre stage under construction. (Photos by Foundation for the Carolinas)
The end appears to be in sight for the massive restoration project at the historic Carolina Theatre on Tryon Street, according to the head of the Foundation for the Carolinas, which bought the theater for $1 in 2012 and took up the task of restoring it to its original splendor.
In an email to donors on Friday, Foundation for the Carolinas CEO Cathy Bessant said that the restoration “has taken longer than any of us would have hoped” but that it is now 85% complete and scheduled to be finished this fall. The foundation told media outlets toward the end of last year that it was 70% complete.
It’s been under construction since 2017.
In her email to donors, Bessant wrote:
It has been highly complicated and involves many types of firms, from architecture to construction to restoration. That said, having walked the theatre numerous times, I can tell you that when it is completed, it will be stunning and state of the art.
Bessant’s update shared photos of the theater’s interior.
North Carolina’s 2024 budget passed in October included $7M for the Carolina Theatre’s restoration, and the Charlotte City Council kicked in an additional $2M in November as costs rose. The project was estimated at $88M at the time, the Charlotte Business Journal reported.
The 950-seat theater dates back to 1927 as a vaudeville theater and silent movie house. It fell into disrepair and was vacant for years. —Cristina Bolling
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