Longtime South End arts organization moving to a new home in another trendy area
The Charlotte Art League is planning to move to a new location next month, and the organization is raising money to help pay for renovations.
The nonprofit art gallery and studio space in South End got word about six months ago that they would have to move, executive director Cindy Connelly said. Charlotte-based Asana Partners bought the block of buildings on Camden Road (which also included the former Phat Burrito location) for $2.7 million.
Asana Partners is planning to overhaul them into a mix of new retail options. But Connelly said the Charlotte Art League had been planning to move for a while, since Dimensional Fund Advisors bought the site across the street that was once home to Common Market and demolished it to make way for a new headquarters that’s under construction.
The nonprofit has been in South End since the 1990s, when the site on Camden Road was nothing like the bustling epicenter of a real estate boom it is now. The area has changed drastically, with thousands of new apartments, since the Blue Line light rail opened in 2007.
Connelly said the group is close to reaching an agreement for a new space “on the edge of NoDa,” near a new light rail station. She declined to give the exact location, since a lease hasn’t been signed yet, but said she expects the move will take place as planned.
The Charlotte Art League needs to renovate the space, which is currently a shell, Connelly said. If that goes according to plan, they could be up and running by March in their new location.
The group is still raising funds to meet that goal. A sale of art and goods created by Charlotte Art League members is on now through Saturday at the consignment auction website Everything But The House, with a portion of the proceeds from each item going to the new location.
The group is also holding fundraisers and accepting donations, which you can see online at http://www.charlotteartleague.org/.
Ely Portillo: 704-358-5041, @ESPortillo
This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Longtime South End arts organization moving to a new home in another trendy area."