Radio station WWOZ is negotiating to signal a long-term lease for a brand new dwelling to be situated on the whole fifth flooring of The Retailers at Jax Brewery, a main location at 600 Decatur Avenue overlooking the French Quarter and Mississippi River.

As readers of OffBeat know, WWOZ has been on the lookout for a brand new everlasting dwelling for some time, and extra urgently because the station’s plans to maneuver to a property at 717 St. Charles Avenue have been shot down by the Board of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Basis (the Basis).

The St. Charles Avenue property that WWOZ wished to relocate to is a three-story, $2.375 million renovated turnkey property within the Central Enterprise District. Based on The Occasions-Picayune, the property was deemed by some members of the NOJHF Board as being “bodily too far faraway from extra ‘culturally related’ elements of the town related to its jazz roots.”

WWOZ is a non-profit, member-supported station that’s owned by the Basis—additionally a non-profit entity. Nevertheless, every non-profit has its personal board of administrators, with some overlap on boards between each ‘OZ (Mates of WWOZ) and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Basis. A few of the ‘OZ Board wished the Basis to buy the St. Charles Avenue constructing on WWOZ’s behalf.

The radio station presently occupies the whole second flooring at 1001 N. Peters Avenue, the place it has been situated for the previous 18 years, post-Hurricane Katrina. WWOZ’s dwelling had been in an historic “kitchen” constructing (the “treehouse studio”) in Armstrong Park, which was not solely insufficient however was significantly broken by Katrina and different hurricanes since 2005.

Publish-Katrina the station moved its amenities to the constructing within the French Market (it’s situated in the identical property because the French Market Company, which controls the leasing of that constructing). In recent times, the station says it has outgrown the N. Peters area, and has additionally mentioned that the rental area is in dire want of restore—thus the seek for a brand new everlasting dwelling.

One wonders why the Basis board wouldn’t approve a purchase order of the St. Charles Avenue property for WWOZ, because it gave the impression to be nice location to serve the station’s wants. It seems that some Basis board members would favor that the station return to Armstrong Park, which is presumably extra “culturally related” than a property on St. Charles Avenue. WWOZ was scheduled to maneuver out of the North Peters area by August 1, however with the refusal of the NOJHF Board to purchase the St. Charles Avenue property—thus leaving WWOZ within the lurch—the French Market Company has prolonged their lease by way of the tip of October.

I don’t perceive cultural relevance argument for a return to Armstrong Park: WWOZ itself creates its cultural relevance, not the constructing or location from which it operates.

WWOZ Treehouse Studio. Picture: Nearer Stroll With Thee, Jordan Hirsch

Armstrong Park—which additionally encompasses Congo Sq.—comprises the long-abandoned Municipal Auditorium which wants tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to remediate, along with prices of renovation and bringing it again into service. It definitely isn’t potential for WWOZ (or anybody else, for that matter) to relocate there with no huge rebuilding of the Auditorium and its surrounding property reconstruction. Plus, the outdated “kitchen constructing/treehouse studio” within the Park that WWOZ occupied for a few years previous to Katrina (for a nominal rental payment) is actually falling into destroy, as is Perseverance Corridor (see my final weblog). So there isn’t a place presently for WWOZ in Armstrong Park and if Armstrong Park is the one place for WWOZ to relocate to be “culturally related,” the station goes to be ready a really very long time.

So there’s actually no viable area for WWOZ to function, and there in all probability received’t be—even assuming that the town lastly decides to refurbish the Municipal Auditorium, or the opposite crumbling buildings within the Park itself or approves and works with a developer to recreate the Park. I’d give it a minimal of 5 years or much more, figuring out how slowly something occurs in New Orleans. That doesn’t assist ‘OZ now for positive.

The Basis owns ‘OZ’s license, and in addition funds the station yearly within the excessive six figures, in response to WWOZ’s 990 tax type (which is publicly obtainable). Based on 990 information, WWOZ has a considerable reserve from operations. However because the Basis owns the station’s license (thus WWOZ itself), considerably funds it and permits ‘OZ to have a profitable affiliation with the Competition itself, their board additionally has the ultimate say on what occurs to WWOZ, together with how and the place it relocates. The Jazz Fest, additionally owned by the Basis, produces plenty of income yearly for each the Basis and for WWOZ. The station advantages from WWOZ member donations, fundraisers, and sells and collects income on its gross sales of Brass Passes to the occasion—regardless of the place it’s situated. WWOZ has a big presence on the Fest by way of its hospitality tent, the place it’s the solely entity allowed to broadcast Jazz Fest music from the Competition and has re-broadcast performances from the Jazz Fest, which has been used to advertise the station’s “Festing in Place” occasions in the course of the COVID pandemic. WWOZ has constructed an impressive popularity and dependable funding. Why shouldn’t it have its personal constructing? Why not pay a mortgage notice, and purchase an asset for the radio station (or the Basis) as a substitute of spending lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} on a rental area?

However the backside line is that though WWOZ might probably afford to buy the property on St. Charles Avenue, it can not make a transfer with out the approval and sanction of the Basis, its proprietor.

New dwelling for WWOZ? Jax Brewery. Picture: Highrises.com

The proposed new area for the WWOZ dwelling on the fifth flooring of Jax Brewery is roughly 7,000 sq. toes and is a main area for the station, being situated in a visitor-dominated space. It additionally has a number of terraces that overlook the French Quarter and the Mississippi River, and has adjoining parking for the numerous volunteer WWOZ deejays who present the content material for the station. So it’s an incredible location, and doubtless will command a fairly excessive rental price (however I additionally presume it’s not culturally related!). However is it solely short-term? If WWOZ can afford to pay significantly larger hire for this premium location, wouldn’t it have been extra financially prudent for the Basis board to approve WWOZ’s buy of a property? And even buy it for the Basis? Isn’t it higher to have the station’s occupancy value go in direction of a purchase order of a property asset, slightly than throw cash at a lease association?

As Beth Arroyo Utterback, WWOZ’s govt director, advised the Occasions-Picayune relating to the Jax location: “It’s a world class spot for a world class station and it’s overlooking the Mississippi River.” Sure, it’s, nevertheless it’s solely a short lived resolution. It’s unlucky that infighting over the place probably the most long-term “culturally-relevant location” is that’s inflicting each the Basis and WWOZ to must make choices that would have an effect on the station’s (and the Basis’s) long-term viability. If the one culturally related location for WWOZ is in Armstrong Park, the Basis board has to consider what is definitely finest for the station, not solely now—when ‘OZ is determined for a brand new location—however into the long run.