Cincinnati Public Radio (CPR) has closed on the $600,000 purchase of property on Dana Avenue near I-71 in Evanston, OH, which will be the future home of news/talk WVXU (91.7) and classical WGUC (90.9).
President/CEO/GM Richard Eiswerth says he wants to break ground before the end of the year for the two-story, 30,000 square-foot headquarters that will include new radio studios, offices, and performance space.
It’s the second time in three years that the public media group has sought out a new location. CPR abandoned its 2018 plan for building new facilities across from City Hall after it was realized that remediation, demolition, and stormwater issues more than doubled the initial $1.5 million cost, according to Eiswerth.
The new location in Evanston will nearly double the current studios and offices CPR rents from WCET-TV in the Crosley Telecommunications Center. It will have a "professional recording studio that is about four times the size of our current Corbett Studio, which is our present production studio," Eiswerth says. Also on the blueprint is a large first-floor gathering space to "serve as a public performance venue for students, professional and amateur musicians, public lectures, political debates, and public meetings."
