Levine Center for the Arts on South Tryon Street in Charlotte, North Carolina, includes Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, the Knight Theater, and the Mint Museum Uptown. It was named for Leon Levine, whose foundation provided financing. [1]
After a year of study by the Arts & Science Council, the 25-year Cultural Facilities Master Plan became a reality in November 2003. The plan was the next stage following a 1976 plan that led to such projects as Spirit Square, Discovery Place, and North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. The $236 million first phase, including an $84 million endowment, included moving the Mint Museum uptown, a new contemporary art museum named for Andreas Bechtler, a new Afro-American Cultural Center, and a 1200-seat theater. These projects were included in a 2001 bond referendum that voters rejected. [2] [3]
The Cultural Facilities Master Plan led to the Campaign for Cultural Facilities in 2006. [4] [5] In addition to an endowment planned by the Arts & Science Council, and $35 million from Bank of America, Duke Energy and Wachovia Corp., the $150.5 million plan was to be financed by property taxes on a development by Wachovia, as well as a 4 percent tax on car rentals which would have to be approved by the North Carolina General Assembly, and specifically by all legislators from Mecklenburg County. Wachovia was building an office tower and parking garage, though if financing was approved, the bank would also build four of the five attractions. Discovery Place, which was planning renovations, was the fifth. The Charlotte city council was to approve an agreement with Wachovia on February 27. [6] On December 1, the car-rental tax increased from 11 to 16 percent, with $1.35 million per year expected. [7]
Groundbreaking took place September 27, 2007, on the $158 million First Street Cultural Campus, also referred to as the Wachovia Cultural Campus. [8]
The tallest building of the complex was to be the Duke Energy Center. Also part of the complex would be the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, the Bechtler Art Museum, and the Wachovia Condominium Tower. [9]
The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art would hold 1200 works of art assembled by Andreas Bechtler and his family during the previous 75 years, in a 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) building designed by Mario Botta. [10]
The Wachovia Condominium Tower would have had 42 floors and 410,000 square feet (38,000 m2) of space, designed by Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio. [11] Due to the 2007–2009 financial crisis, the only part of the tower built was the Knight Theater, until the Museum Tower opened in 2017. [12]
The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture would have four floors, cost $18.6 million and have 45,000 square feet (4,200 m2) of gallery, classroom, and administrative space. [13] It was dedicated October 24, 2009. [14]
After Wells Fargo announced its takeover of Wachovia, the city said its contract with Wachovia required "successors" to finish the project, after which the city and county would buy the attractions. [15] [16] [17] The campus was later renamed for Wells Fargo. [18] After large contributions from Duke Energy and the Leon Levine Foundation resulted in the $83 million goal being reached, the Wells Fargo Cultural Campus became Levine Center for the Arts. [5] [19] On October 1, 2010, the $56 million 145,000-square-foot Mint Museum Uptown opened, completing the $127 million campus. [20] [21] Charlotte's city council changed the name of First Street to Levine Avenue of the Arts, with new signs revealed November 16. [22]
Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 15th-most populous city in the United States, the seventh-most populous city in the South, and the second-most populous city in the Southeast behind Jacksonville, Florida. Charlotte is the cultural, economic, and transportation center of the Charlotte metropolitan area, whose estimated 2023 population of 2,805,115 ranked 22nd in the United States. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of an 18-county market region and combined statistical area with an estimated population of 3,387,115 as of 2023.
Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The area is managed and overseen by the Charlotte Central City Partners, which is one of the three Municipal Service Districts in Charlotte. Uptown Charlotte is the largest business district in Charlotte and the Carolinas.
Truist Field is a baseball stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The Uptown-area stadium hosts the Charlotte Knights, a Triple-A Minor League Baseball team in the International League. It is also the third sports building to be built in Uptown, after Bank of America Stadium and Spectrum Center.
The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collections showcasing art and design from around the globe.
One Wells Fargo Center is a 588-foot (179 m) skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the headquarters for Wells Fargo's east coast division but will leave the building by the end of 2023. Opening on September 14, 1988, it was the tallest building in North Carolina, until 1992 when it was surpassed by the Bank of America Corporate Center. The building consists of 42 floors, a connected 22-story Hilton Hotel, YMCA, parking garage, plaza, and is connected to Two Wells Fargo Center via skybridge, as part of the Overstreet Mall.
550 South Tryon is a 786-foot (240 m) tall, 48-floor skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Three Wells Fargo Center is a 450-foot (137 m) high rise in Charlotte, North Carolina. Completed in 2000, the building consists of 32 floors with 890,000 square feet (83,000 m2) of office space; it also includes an underground parking garage, an attached 10-story low-rise known as the Ratcliffe on the Green, and connects to Two Wells Fargo Center via skybridge, as part of the Overstreet Mall.
Fifth Third Center, formally known as the IJL Financial Center and 201 North Tryon, is a 447 feet (136 m) building in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was completed in 1997, and has 30 floors. It is located at the intersection of West Fifth Street and North Tryon Street. It was designed by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates. The building contains 697,817 square feet (65,000 m2) of rentable floor space and it includes an attached 1,030 space parking deck. In 2001 the building won the BOMA International's TOBY award for excellence in office building management and operations.
Two Wells Fargo Center is a 433-foot (132 m) high rise in Charlotte, North Carolina. Completed in 1971. It is currently the 14th tallest building in Charlotte. The building consists of 32 floors, an atrium, plaza, seven-story parking garage, and is connected to neighboring buildings via skybridges, as part of the Overstreet Mall.
One Independence Center is a high-rise office building located in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. It was completed in 1983 and stands at a height of 301 ft with 20 floors. It is the seventh largest building in Charlotte by leasable square feet with 565,694 square feet. It sits on the former site of the Independence Building at Charlotte's Independence Square.
440 South Church also known as the Ally Center is a 15-story high-rise in Charlotte, North Carolina with 368,000 square feet (34,200 m2) of space. Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates designed the building, and Bovis Lend Lease was the general contractor. Major tenants are Ally Financial and HDR. It was built according to LEED gold standards, making it a green building.
The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a 36,500-square-foot (3,390 m2) museum space dedicated to the exhibition of mid-20th-century modern art. The modern art museum is part of the new Levine Center for the Arts in Uptown. The museum building was designed by architect Mario Botta.
The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, formerly known as the Afro-American Cultural Center, is in Charlotte, North Carolina and named for Harvey Gantt, the city's first African-American mayor and the first African-American student at Clemson University. The 46,500 sq ft, four-story center was designed by Freelon Group Architects at a cost of $18.6 million — and was dedicated in October 2009 as part of what is now the Levine Center for the Arts.
The Lynx Blue Line is a light rail line in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Opened in 2007, it was the first rail line of the Charlotte Area Transit System, and the first major rapid rail service of any kind in the state. The 26-station, 19.3-mile (31.1 km) line extends from its northern terminus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in University City through NoDa, Uptown, and South End, then runs along South Boulevard to its southern terminus just north of Interstate 485 at the Pineville city limits. The line carries an average of over 27,700 passenger trips every day and offers connections to the CATS' CityLynx Gold Line which opened in 2015.
First Ward Park is a 4.6 acre urban park in the First Ward neighborhood of Uptown Charlotte. After a national competition to attract architects, the firm Shadley Associates was selected to build the park. The park incorporates the existing Dixie's Tavern and UNCC buildings, and new construction will include an office tower, hotel, and parking deck on adjacent land.
Spirit Square, also called Spirit Square Center for the Arts, is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its McGlohon Theater in the former First Baptist Church on North Tryon Street, named for Loonis McGlohon, is now part of North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.
Legacy Union, formerly known as 620 South Tryon, is a multi-building development currently finished in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. It broke ground on August 4, 2017, and finished in 2021. The development includes the world headquarters of Honeywell and major corporate offices for Deloitte, JLL, Bank of America, and Robinson Bradshaw.
The Carolina Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a historic movie house currently undergoing restoration to become a performing arts center and civic convening space. The theatre is owned by the nonprofit Foundation For The Carolinas.
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