“The Cain Center for the Arts will be an exceptional place to experience and participate in the arts in the Lake Norman region.” –Malcolm Holzman

May 25. By Dave Yochum. Those crashing sounds you might hear downtown are Griffin Brothers Cos. demolishing the concrete foundations at the future site of the Cain Center for the Arts. The 30,000 square foot structure will include a 400-seat theater, two visual arts classrooms, a dance studio and conference room, a two-story lobby, Gallery space, along with backstage support spaces, a green room and a wardrobe room.

Inspired architecture

Steinberg Hart|Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture designed the $25 million building. Malcolm Holzman has planned, programmed and designed over 130 projects for public use, including 35 library projects during the last five decades.

Holzman photo by Steinberghart.com

“The Cain Center for the Arts will be an exceptional place to experience and participate in the arts in the Lake Norman region,” Holzman said.

Holzman’s 50-year career has spanned the majority of the Late Modernist movement. Asked to label the thinking behind the edifice, he said: “I’d suggest ‘Lake Norman Precise.”

Construction under way

Charlotte-based Edifice General Contractors, one of the top commercial builders in the Southeast, was the winning bidder. Their bid came in at $16 million—some $2 million less than expected.

Edifice has a track record in municipal, faith-based and large corporate projects.

Cornelius-based Griffin gifted the demolition to the Cain Center of the Arts. It is slated to take 90 to 120 days.

Cain Center for the Arts design by Steinberg Hart | Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture