The Roots Has Found a New Home
Our moving saga began when KETC TV decided to revitalize its Grand Center building. The new KETC plan did not include space for us, a total surprise. That means we will be forced to move this summer. We loved their building, the backup generator, tons of space, the Donnybrook set; we never wanted to leave. We understand this change may be unexpected, but it's necessary for our future growth and stability.
Usually, this kind of move takes a year of planning and a capital campaign to cover the expenses. But we must move this summer, because the KETC construction starts on September first. Last week, we found the perfect new location, in southwest St. Louis: a co-working space called Elevator St. Louis at 1230 Macklind Avenue. It fits us perfectly, with room to grow, and it meets our technical requirements. We know this transition will be complex and costly, and your support is vital to its success.
Please use this form to make your one-time donation to The Big Move Campaign. This donation is designed to supplement, not replace, your membership support.
Question? johns@therootsfm.org 314-279-9420
The public spaces in the new building will take The Roots to new creative heights. We will connect the new spaces to our broadcast control room with "digital snakes" (technically, CAT6 VOIP connections), as we do with our current studios. The result is 2 additional studios, at half the cost.
Below are some examples of what we are building.
- A conference room that transforms into a podcast studio.
- A public gathering space that transforms into a 100-seat musical live broadcast showcase.
- A new "technical hub" to house our servers, encoders, & 100 TB network-attached media storage.
- See the actual public gathering space below. All we add is the audio capabilities.
Our Engineering Team has a big job and a tight schedule
Our engineering staff has started preparing detailed drawings for our new technical operations. Once the drawings are ready, we will start building our new facilities. But only the racks and wiring will be installed, because the audio playout equipment they will connect to can't be moved while we are still operating from our original location.
Usually, when a radio station relocates, it builds a new facility from the ground up. But that would add $50,000 to our costs, so we will stream from our emergency backup system for two days while we move the audio equipment. Then, we will move the playout gear to our new studios and reconnect everything using the cabling we installed two weeks earlier. We are very lucky to have a chief engineer with experience in building and moving stations such as KMOX, KWMU, KSLZ, KSD-FM & KATZ-FM & KLOU.
Remember that backup generator at KETC? That would cost us $25,000, so we are investing $3,000 in a heavy-duty battery backup system that will power playout operation for up to 24 hours during a power failure.
We are still searching for portable studio furniture. So, if we ever need to move again, we will roll our studio furniture and server racks out the door and into a moving van—no more built-ins for The Roots.
We have delayed purchasing a new studio audio board until we can raise the additional $10,000 needed.
The important part: how can we make this work?
Our budget for the entire moving project is $35,000. Why so much? This is a big job. We will need to disassemble everything we built at KETC, move it to Mackland Ave, and then reassemble it. All of our old wiring will need to be replaced. We will need to modify some of the electrical service at our new facility to isolate our power from other tenants. We will also need to purchase replacement furniture, since the desks and countertops we used at KETC are their property and will not be going with us. We will also need to add some soundproofing in our new studios. We have included some room for contingencies.
Here is our plan.
If each current Roots member donates between $50.00 and $100.00, we can make this work by the end of May. We ask that some members who can donate more do so, to cover the shortfall of those who can't. Donations to The Big Move are not recurring and do not replace annual membership donations.
But I Would Like To Do More.
If some of you have been considering a transformative gift to make a major impact on The Roots' future, now is the time to do so. Some of our technical equipment, while functional, is nearing the end of its useful life. Helping us to purchase replacements now, while so much rewiring work is underway, will save us money in the long run. If you have any questions about this project, our needs, or how you could get involved, please get in touch with me. My cell number is 314-303-1044.
The Roots FM.Org is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible. We also accept Donor-Advised Funds and donations from your IRA. Starting in the 2026 tax year, U.S. taxpayers taking the standard deduction ("short form") can deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 married filing jointly) in cash donations to qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofits. This "above-the-line" deduction is a change from previous years, where non-itemizers generally received no tax benefit for charitable gifts.
Please consult your tax advisor if you have questions.