Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library remains millions short of goal for uptown branch
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library Foundation still needs to raise millions to fully fund the new Main Library in uptown.
The five-story facility at North Tryon and Sixth Street, currently under construction, is slated to cost $137 million. A significant portion of that money will come from private donations raised by the foundation. Founded in 2012, the foundation is a nonprofit that supports the library system’s services, projects and operations.
The library is still about $8 million short of its fundraising goal as of December, library spokeswoman Krystel Green told The Charlotte Observer. But the new uptown library is still anticipated to open in spring 2027 as previously projected despite the fundraising gap, according to Green.
“The Foundation’s goal is to finish fundraising by the end of 2026, and work continues to reach the goal,” she said.
The library “hope(s) to have one or two major gifts that have the potential for impact early next year,” Green added.
Paying for new uptown Charlotte library
Mecklenburg County designated $72 million for the new Main Library, leaving $65 million to be covered by private donations.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library Foundation is leading the fundraising effort as part of its CommonSpark campaign.
That $165 million public-private partnership will pay for the new uptown venue, a new library administration center and other library services and operations, according to the campaign’s website.
The foundation accepts one-time, monthly or multi-year donations.
Library leadership said at the 2023 groundbreaking for the new facility the foundation was $18 million short of its fundraising goal, and staff told reporters in October the gap was down to about $8 million.
The library hasn’t “had any significant changes to announce” since then, Green told the Observer.
What’s planned for new Main Library
Work began on the new Main Library in August 2023 with the demolition of the old uptown library.
The new facility, which will serve as the main branch of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library system, will include a variety of resources including:
- 15 meeting rooms
- An event hall
- An immersive theater
- A “digital visualization lab” with a 270-degree screen for creative projects and technology classes.
- A cafe serving coffee and small bites
- A new Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room for history and genealogy research
A new Main Library isn’t the only major project the library has undertaken in recent years.
The new University City Library opened earlier this year. That 38,000 square feet, two-story facility off JW Clay Boulevard is the second-largest regional library in Mecklenburg County, second only to the Uptown campus.
