Capital Campaign

Carolina Ballet at South Hills

Carolina Ballet is thrilled to introduce Starline South Hills, a partnership with Loden Development to create a one-of-a-kind community gathering place opening in 2028. As the largest professional dance company in the Southeast, Carolina Ballet will establish a new permanent home in the first phase of South Hills — a visionary arts, entertainment, and creative district at the crossroads of Cary and Raleigh. Anchoring this reimagined destination represents both a privilege and an extraordinary opportunity to help shape Wake County’s next cultural epicenter.

Together with Loden, we will transform a 70,000-square-foot vacant dealership into a dynamic mixed-use arts hub where Carolina Ballet will own and occupy 36,000 square feet, and the remaining space will feature light-filled public areas, cafés, and shops. With open rehearsal studios and our first-ever black box theater, Starline South Hills will bring audiences closer to the art of dance and inspire connection, creativity, and community.

A Transformative Moment

After 21 years at 3401 Atlantic Avenue, Carolina Ballet faced one of its greatest challenges in 2022: the sale of the building that had long served as our home. With a short timeline to move, we quickly secured and upfit a new 24,000-square-foot facility at 3030 Stony Brook Drive, moving in June 2023 without interrupting the professional company or School of Carolina Ballet. This successful transition marked the first phase of our capital campaign.

Now, the Ballet stands at the threshold of a truly transformational next step — creating a permanent home at South Hills, in partnership with LODEN Development.

Carolina Ballet at South Hills

Carolina Ballet has the extraordinary opportunity to purchase and transform 36,000 square feet at 1300 Buck Jones Road into a vibrant arts and community hub — a place where creativity and connection live side by side. This new home will unite all aspects of Carolina Ballet under one roof for the first time in our history:

• 5 state-of-the-art ballet studios for both our professional dancers and students

• School of Carolina Ballet classrooms and rehearsal spaces

• Administrative and artistic offices

• Costume, production shop and storage

• A public atrium where visitors can watch rehearsals through glass studio walls

• A flexible black box theater, seating approximately 300 guests, designed for intimate pop-up performances, community partnerships, and creative exploration.

The other half of the 70,000-square-foot building will be developed by LODEN into restaurants, cafés, and gathering spaces, creating a lively and welcoming arts district destination where people can meet, dine, and experience the arts in a whole new way.

Why This Matters

Owning our facility will eliminate more than $600,000 in annual rent and storage expenses, ensuring that those funds can instead be invested directly into artistic programming, community engagement, and the next generation of dancers. The new home will also create new revenue streams through the black box theater and increase overall ticket sales and donor support — strengthening Carolina Ballet’s long-term sustainability.

This is not only a building project — it’s a legacy investment in the cultural future of North Carolina.

Campaign Phases

In Spring 2023, Carolina Ballet established a Campaign Cabinet of active Board Members, and determined the goals for the Capital Campaign.

We are inviting supporters to join us in supporting this project through one to three-year pledges that will make this vision a reality.

Join Us in Perfecting Our Position

Every gift to the Capital Campaign brings us closer to a permanent, community-centered home that reflects the artistry, collaboration, and excellence at the heart of Carolina Ballet.

Together, we can build a place where dance inspires, connects, and thrives — today and for the future.

Capital Campaign Cabinet

If you are not currently in the position to make an additional gift, please remember that it is because of you—through all your support and all your gifts small and large—that we will be able to sustain Carolina Ballet for generations to come. Thank you all for being a part of it.

CAMPAIGN LEADER

Dr. Joseph M. Bumgarner

CAMPAIGN CABINET LIAISONS

Mrs. Susan Brigham

Mrs. Karen Foster

Mrs. Stefanie Kahn

Ms. Katherine R. White

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS