KERA breaks ground on headquarters, prepares to launch local news show
Sheryl Lanzel
KERA CEO Nico Leone (left) and Bill Addy, co-founder of the Addy Foundation, join Daniel Tiger at the March 3 groundbreaking event for KERA's new headquarters in Dallas.
KERA broke ground this month on construction of a new headquarters that will include updated facilities and a community floor open to the public.
The complex will be built at the northern end of KERA’s property in uptown Dallas, where the station has been based for 60 years. Its new headquarters will be located at the end of the Katy Trail, a popular walking path and tourist attraction.
KERA COO Christopher Wagley said the new space was designed to accommodate the growing organization, but with efficiency in mind. The new space will be 56,000 square feet, compared to the 75,000–square-foot facility KERA previously occupied.
During construction, KERA is operating from temporary headquarters at One Arts Plaza in downtown Dallas.
The first floor of the new building will include a TV studio that doubles as a performance space with a capacity of 300 people. Wagley said the space’s retractable seating and stage will allow for screenings, concerts and other events at the new headquarters.
“With us being a public broadcasting organization, we are here for the community, and we wanted it to be very community-centric,” Wagley said.
A first-floor podcasting space operated by PRX Productions will teach visitors about podcasting and audio production. The building’s second floor will include an additional studio and event space.
KERA sold a portion of its own land to Kaizen Developments Partners to fund the headquarters project. Kaizen now plans to construct two high-rise buildings with office space, condominiums and a hotel on the lot.
In November, KERA’s capital campaign also received a $15 million grant from the Addy Foundation. KERA President Nico Leone said he expects the total goal for the campaign to be between $110 million and $115 million.
According to Wagley, $97 million has already been raised as of the project’s groundbreaking, with the largest contribution coming from the station’s real estate sale. Members of the public will be able to donate to the campaign closer to its anticipated final stage in the spring of 2028.
Tying ‘a big lasso’
As part of the campaign, KERA will also launch a local news show in May and expand its Learning Neighborhoods project into Fort Worth.
The new show, North Texas Now, will partner with KERA’s branches and partner organizations to do a dedicated local news hour. The show will air at 9 a.m. most days and focus on topics including business, government, politics, health and culture.
“We’re just trying to convene in-depth conversations on the issues that are shaping the future of North Texas and not just admire the problems, but also explore solutions,” Leone said.
North Texas Now will have a team of six staffers. EP Stephen Becker said the show will bring together content from KERA’s brands, such as the Denton Record-Chronicle, which the station acquired in 2023, or From the Top, the classical music show that became part of KERA last month. It will also draw on external partnerships with outlets such as the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Report.
“What I’m hoping with this show is that we can kind of tie a big lasso around all of those pieces of the company and bring them together,” Becker said.
The expansion of the station’s education work will focus on its Learning Neighborhoods, which partner with local organizations to bring children’s programming to their communities. Starting this month, KERA will partner with the Fort Worth Public Library to hold workshops at library locations.
The station has name recognition for its trusted childhood educational content, said Haley Kral, the library’s youth programming coordinator. She said she hopes that attracts more families to the library.
“Anything we can do that provides those free and easily accessible opportunities to learn while having fun is a benefit to us and a benefit to our community,” she said.
KERA launched its Learning Neighborhoods with a Ready to Learn grant. Leone said the station’s early education team hopes to continue expanding the program with local fundraising and support from the capital campaign.
Growing KERA’s impact in the community is central to the capital campaign, Leone said.
“I am incredibly optimistic about what we will be able to do to continue to serve our audiences in North Texas,” he said.
