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Leaders with The LGBT Community Center of Charlotte are hoping the organization’s move to a larger facility in NoDa will help expand its reach into the community.
The center spent the past five years in offices at the N.C. Music Factory. But this month, it moved into a building at the corner of North Davidson and 28th streets.
The 4,568-square-foot facility is double the size of the old location, and also includes meeting space and a large area for big events. It also faces the street and is near a bus stop, which will help boost the visibility of the center, said operations manager O’Neale Atkinson.
The LGBT center was founded in 2001 as a way to promote the diversity, acceptance and visibility of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
It partners with other organizations to offer a variety of programs such as support groups and a Stonewall Celebration to commemorate the 1969 riots in New York that started the gay rights movement.
Atkinson said leaders hope the new location will allow the organization to expand the types of programs it offers both for the LGBT population and the community at large.
So far, events hosted at the center have included a monthly dinner by the Charlotte Business Guild and a leadership session by the Community Building Initiative. More than 380 people have already walked through the center this month, compared to 280 in December, Atkinson said.
Among the events planned for this spring is the launch of a volunteers corps and a formal promlike event.
“I think that with this new space we’ll be able to bring a lot of new content that people have been asking for,” Atkinson said.
The center is open Monday to Saturday at 2508 N. Davidson. Atkinson said anyone who has ideas for events the center could host or who would like to contribute to the center could send an email to info@gaycharlotte.com or visit gaycharlotte.com/donate
