WFAE to leave community space due to funding cuts

WFAE announced Friday that it will leave a building it uses as a community engagement hub next year to close a budget gap caused by the end of federal funding. 

The station in Charlotte, N.C., moved some operations from its University City headquarters to the uptown location nearly three years ago. It will leave the uptown location in the spring.

The location has a studio and has hosted live programming and public events.

“The revenue losses we are experiencing require that we reevaluate our priorities, including having a permanent uptown location, to ensure that WFAE’s ability to serve the Charlotte region remains strong,” CEO Ju-Don Marshall said in a press release. “However, we are committed to engaging the communities we serve by taking ‘WFAE Everywhere,’ including maintaining a strong presence uptown through various partnerships such as with the Carolina Theatre, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and UNC Charlotte.” 

The move is part of the station’s attempt to close a budget gap this year of nearly $1 million. In July, the station reduced staff by half a dozen employees.

The station reported in its FY24 audit that a lease it signed in October 2022 would have begun in May 2026 and run through June 2031. The expected lease payments over that time were to be more than $2.4 million. 

The station also reported that occupancy expenses jumped from more than $360,000 in FY22 to more than $821,000 in FY24.