CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The Katie Blessing Center broke ground Tuesday at its new location in east Charlotte, paving the way for the facility to meet a critical need for children fighting mental health struggles.

The behavioral health facility located on Central Avenue, will open in phases starting in spring 2026. It’s intended to help children facing mental wellness challenges, along with their families, from across the state, according to Katie Blessing Center founder, Michael Estramonte.

The first phase of construction will include include 48 acute inpatient beds and a six-chair behavioral health urgent care, treating ages 5-17.

“The need is dire, it’s desperate in this area,” Estramonte said. “We talk about it all the time how there’s only 300 beds across North Carolina for pediatric behavioral health and every day there are over 150 kids waiting in emergency departments for this service.”

The center will be able to treat children and teens struggling with self-harm, violence, eating disorders, addiction, trauma, and mental health disorders.

“You can blame it on social media, you can blame it on so many factors, food, diet, but at the end of the day we need a place for them to go and start the healing process,” Estramonte said.

Phase two of construction will add 24 more inpatient beds to the facility.

“It’s life changing, it’s something we haven’t done, we’re in a new era,” District 5 Charlotte City Councilwoman, Marjorie Molina, said. “I can’t imagine what the parents are going to feel. The ones who’ve been looking for this kind of help.”

When construction begins, Katie Blessing Center will begin hiring more than 200 people for the facility.

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