CHARLOTTE, NC — The Campaign For Cultural Facilities has received a $5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The grant will support the operating endowment for new cultural facilities including a 1,200-seat theater to be named for John S. and James L. Knight.
The Campaign For Cultural Facilities launches today with a goal of $82.5 million. Knight Foundation’s $5 million grant joins combined pledges of $35 million by Bank of America, Duke Energy and Wachovia Foundation.
The City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have approved funding totaling $158.5 million to build and renovate the cultural projects located in Uptown Charlotte.
The projects includes a new Afro-American Cultural Center, a new uptown Mint Museum, the Bechtler Museum and the Knight Theater as part of the Wachovia First Street Cultural Campus — a mixed-use development scheduled to open in late 2009. Additionally, a renovation of Discovery Place will include new exhibits.
The Campaign For Cultural Facilities — led by Ken Lewis, Chairman, President and CEO of Bank of America; Jim Rogers, President and CEO of Duke Energy; and Ken Thompson, Chairman, President and CEO of Wachovia Corporation – will raise funds to support facility operating costs, provide endowment and operating funds for the Charlotte Symphony and facility capital for the North Carolina Dance Theatre.
“This cultural campus will sit across the street from the office where Jim Knight worked as publisher. He and his brother would be pleased, I think, to have their name associated with such a transformational opportunity for Charlotte, and in this investment in the city’s downtown and in its future,” said Susan Patterson, Knight Foundation’s program director for Charlotte.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of U.S. communities, including Charlotte, where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Since its founding in 1950, Knight Foundation has made more than 375 grants, totaling almost $60 million in the Charlotte area. For more on Knight Foundation, visit www.knightfdn.org.
The Cultural Facilities Plan, adopted in January 2004, establishes a vision for future development of cultural facilities in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. A 130-member Blue Ribbon Committee of stakeholders directed the study and engaged two internationally known consulting firms: LORD Cultural Resources and Theatre Projects Consultants. The Plan was funded by The Arts & Science Council, Foundation For The Carolinas, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Charlotte City Center Partners. The Cultural Facilities Plan can be viewed at www.artsandscience.org