Two years after devastating fire, Charlotte Prep opens new building
Charlotte Preparatory School’s new $13 million lower school will open Aug. 20, after a three-alarm fire destroyed the old one in 2023.
The private school first opened in 1971 as Charlotte Montessori before moving to its current location on Boyce Road in south Charlotte. It changed its name in 1998 when it added its middle school campus. When the elementary school building burned to the ground June 26, 2023, it took years of history with it.
Yearbooks. Handcrafted math games. Lesson plans. Gifts from students.
“Getting that phone call was the most devastating period in my entire teaching career,” said Maggie Harris, a learning support specialist at the school who was a second grade teacher at the time of the fire. “You had 20 years of things we’ve accumulated and created…When I got that phone call, I cried.”
The inferno caused about $2.5 million in damages, Charlotte Fire Department estimated at the time. More than 60 firefighters responded to the incident, and no injuries were reported. According to Charlotte Prep Head of School Todd Ballaban, the fire’s cause remains under investigation, but foul play has been ruled out.
After the fire, teachers spent the first few months holding classes wherever they could in the remaining building at the school, which serves 435 students in grades pre-K through eighth grade. For Harris, that sometimes meant meeting with students in hallways or stairwells. She doesn’t teach full classes but meets with small groups of students to provide extra support,
Eventually, the school got modular units in October 2023, where they’ve held elementary school classes ever since.
The new building is twice the size of the last, covering over 24,000 square feet. It has 11 classrooms for kindergarten through fourth grade, as well as a new dining hall and spaces for counseling and learning support.
Initially, plans indicated the space would cost $11 million, but the total cost came out around $13 million. The school raised the needed funds within 10 months. Construction was finished in 12 months.
“Our new facility is second to none,” said Ballaban. “It demonstrates our commitment to excellence and celebrates our past while preparing our students for the future.”
Harris said she’s most excited to be under one roof with her colleagues again.
“We were so disconnected from each other,” she said of the time spent in the temporary modular buildings. “I’m so excited to actually be with my coworkers and for the kids to get to see each other more now.”
Classes begin at Charlotte Prep on Aug. 20.
This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
