CHARLOTTE — On March 29, a dream once envisioned some 25 years ago is now a step closer to becoming reality.
Charlotte Catholic High School’s principal, Kurt Telford, and members of the MACS Fine Arts Center campaign cabinet announced the kickoff of the “Expanding the Vision, Honoring the
Tradition” capital campaign during a rally at the high school.
The event marked the beginning of the public phase of fundraising for a new 55,000-square-foot building to be built adjacent to Charlotte Catholic High School on Pineville-Matthews Road.
The MACS Fine Arts Center has been a long-time goal. Ever since Charlotte Catholic High School relocated to its current campus in 1995, the Catholic community has recognized the need for a dedicated space for performing and visual arts classes for students in the local Catholic schools.
The MACS Fine Arts Center at Charlotte Catholic High School will provide arts education and performance space for all elementary, middle and high school students in the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools system. The center also will be available for gatherings of the entire Catholic community and the broader Charlotte community.
The “Expanding the Vision, Honoring the Tradition” capital campaign aims to raise $8 million toward the cost of the center. MACS will cover the remaining $15 million of the center’s $23 million cost through an existing capital fee paid by all school families in the system.
The campaign has raised $3 million so far. The Diocese of Charlotte’s “Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love” campaign and the Charlotte Catholic High School Foundation have provided major financial backing, with each giving a $500,000 gift to the campaign.
“The MACS Fine Arts Center at Charlotte Catholic High School is a school expansion that will benefit every one of our Catholic school students, from kindergarten through 12th grade,” Telford said. “We will be able to offer a holistic education to all of our students, with new space for the performing arts that all MACS students may use, and renovated space for classrooms and athletics at Charlotte Catholic.”
The dominant feature of the MACS Fine Arts Center will be a 650-seat auditorium, which will have a 60-foot-high professional theatrical rigging system for hoisting curtains, lighting and other equipment. The center will also feature band and choral rooms; dance, art and ceramic studios; photography and digital labs; faculty workshop space; dressing rooms; a lobby and gathering space, and a concessions area.
“We can’t wait to welcome everyone who will use the Fine Arts Center – the CCHS students as well as our elementary and middle school students, the Catholic community, and our greater Charlotte community,” Telford said.
“This expansion has been a long time coming, and we are thrilled to make this dream a reality.”
MACS students consistently receive local, regional and national recognition for excellence in the arts. While the programs thrive, fine arts space is limited.
All fine arts classes at Charlotte Catholic will relocate to the new 55,000-square-foot building. The move will free up space at the high school for other uses. The school will renovate the space into classrooms and an athletic area that will include a new weight room and new wrestling room.
“FFHL is having a significant impact around the diocese, and this project is the latest example of how people’s contributions are making a difference in our parishes, schools and ministries,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan development director.
The goal is to begin construction in December 2020 and open the MACS Fine Arts Center by June 2022.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter. Charlotte Catholic High School contributed.
