New uptown Charlotte library offers sneak peek inside $137 million ‘star project’
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- Charlotte building $137M Main Library, with $72M county and $65M private funds.
- Five-story building features curved glass, cantilevered floors, terraces and skylit atrium.
- Plans include tech labs, immersive theater, 15 meeting rooms and an Opportunity Center.
Construction is moving forward on Charlotte’s new Main Library, a $137 million project expected to open in spring 2027 in Uptown.
The five-story building at North Tryon and Sixth Street will replace the former main library, demolished in 2023. Funded by $72 million from Mecklenburg County and $65 million in private donations, the new facility will serve as the main branch of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library system.
Caitlin Moen, library director for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library system, said the building is meant to last for decades and spark new energy in the area.
“This is where the library began, and it’s important that it stays rooted here in the community,” Moen said. “It’s really exciting to be… a catalyst for change here on the North Tryon corridor”
A library has stood on this site since 1903, Moen said. The new design keeps that legacy alive while bringing in modern architecture such as curved glass walls interspersed with metal panels on the building’s exterior and six outdoor spaces, including two terraces with skyline views, said Ben MacBain, the project superintendent from Rogers Leepers, an association between Rodgers Builders and R.J. Leeper Construction,
Moen said the goal is to make the building a “true destination,” with places for people to meet, work or simply take in the view from its upper floors.
The library held a media tour of the construction site Friday, giving an inside look at the building’s progress.
Inside the building
MacBain said the main entrance on Tryon Street will open into a shared lobby connecting the library to the historic Spirit Square theater next door. Outside, new stairs, planters and an ADA-accessible ramp will make the plaza pedestrian-friendly, he said.
Inside, terrazzo-style floors and wood ceilings will greet visitors. A café off Sixth Street will offer coffee and small bites with forum seating and built-in chargers, MacBain said. A five-story atrium capped by a skylight will fill the space with natural light, and an upper terrace lined with glass railings and copper-tone panels nods to the Spirit Square theater.
“The central core of the building is a very open floor plan around this large opening. On every level, our monumental stairs zigzag back and forth up this large atrium opening,” MacBain said. “At the very top there will be a skylight. It’ll shine natural light all the way down to the lobby space… which will be an awesome feature when it’s all done.”
The building is curved, slanted backwards, and includes three stories of cantilevered structure – upper floors that extend outward without columns below – to preserve views of the theater next door. During construction, MacBain said crews temporarily supported one side of the building with columns before carefully removing them once internal bracing was in place.
The new library will have 15 meeting rooms, a large event hall and a “destination reading room” overlooking the city, Moen said. An automated system near the entrance will sort returned materials, speeding up circulation, MacBain said.
There will also be a large focus on technology in the new space, Moen said. The first floor will feature an immersive theater and the second will host a “digital visualization lab” with a 270-degree screen for creative projects and technology classes.
Moen said the design reflects feedback the library gathered from residents throughout planning.
“We really listened to the community in order to incorporate all of the things that folks want from their library ,” she said. “We’ve been designing it intentionally to last us for 50 years, so the idea being that we can do unique spaces while still ensuring flexibility for the future.”
Next steps
About 70 employees will staff the new branch, Moen said. With the children’s library ImaginOn nearby, this location will focus more on adults and teens: hosting book clubs, speaker series, technology classes and workforce programs through its new “Opportunity Center.”
“We’ve already started testing some new program formats and ways to engage the community – conversations, speaker events, things like that – so that when we move in here, we’ll be ready to hit the ground running,” she said.
Of the $137 million budget, about $8 million still needs to be raised, Moen said.
Despite the challenges of building on a tightly constrained site in Uptown — with limited space for equipment and constant coordination with traffic and utilities — MacBain said work remains on track for a spring 2027 opening.
“It’s a 100-year building, something that’s going to stand the test of time,” MacBain said. “It’s a star project for the city of Charlotte, and we’re proud to be part of it.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
