Wayne County has committed $2 million to the Fred and Barbara Erb Public Media Campus in Detroit, adding momentum to the campaign supporting the $40 million project.
With the county’s investment in a new campus for Detroit PBS and 90.9 WRCJ, the campaign is 75 percent funded through support from foundations, public partners, and individual donors throughout the region.
Detroit PBS and 90.9 WRCJ broke ground on the project last week. Located at 234 Piquette Ave. just east of Woodward Avenue, the new center will be a hub for public media, education, journalism, arts, and community engagement.
Scheduled to open in fall 2027, the approximately 50,000-square-foot campus will bring Detroit PBS and 90.9 WRCJ together under one roof for the first time.
It represents the next chapter in more than a decade of work by Detroit PBS to expand beyond traditional broadcasting through partnerships in local journalism, education, arts and culture, environmental reporting, and health and wellness initiatives across southeast Michigan.
The Erb Campus will give those partnerships a permanent, centrally located home while creating new opportunities for people to gather, learn, create, exchange ideas, and engage with the stories shaping the region.
“This is a defining moment for Detroit PBS, 90.9 WRCJ and the communities we serve as the Erb Campus moves a step closer to opening,” says Rich Homberg, president and CEO of Detroit PBS and 90.9 WRCJ. “The campus will place public media closer to the people whose experiences, ideas, and aspirations drive our work.
“It will give us new ways to welcome our neighbors, strengthen local journalism, support lifelong learning, showcase artists and performers, and convene meaningful conversations about the future of our region. Most importantly, this campus is being made possible by a community that believes strong public media matters.”
Wayne County’s investment builds on the cornerstone of the campaign: a successful $7.5 million challenge grant from the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation. The community met the challenge one year ahead of schedule, unlocking the full matching commitment and generating $15 million in combined support for the project.
“Wayne County has been a nationally recognized hub of the arts, culture and publicly supported journalism for decades that has set an unparallelled standard of excellence,” says Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans.
“The Fred and Barbara Erb Public Media Campus, which will support education, journalism, arts, and culture, will perpetuate that standard by creating a space where our residents can see themselves and participate in conversations that affect their lives. The County is proud to invest in such an endeavor that will strengthen one of our region’s most important public institutions and our community as a whole.”
Plans for the Fred and Barbara Erb Public Media Campus include:
- A studio theater for televised productions, performances, public forums, and community events
- An indoor-outdoor performance space supporting live music and programming from 90.9 WRCJ
- A lifelong education center for student programs, family activities, workshops, and professional learning
- A journalism hub where reporters and community organizations can collaborate on coverage of regional issues
- Modern television, radio, and digital production facilities
- Flexible gathering and collaboration spaces for community partners, artists, educators, and civic leaders
- Outdoor areas designed to welcome visitors and connect the campus with the surrounding neighborhood
“The response to the challenge reflects the generosity and determination that my parents saw throughout southeast Michigan,” says John Erb, son of Fred and Barbara Erb and chair of the Erb Family Foundation.
“They believed deeply in the power of arts, culture, education, environmental stewardship, and community institutions to improve people’s lives. This campus will carry those values forward by creating a place where people can connect, learn, and imagine what is possible together. Our family and foundation are grateful to every donor who helped meet this challenge ahead of schedule.”
The campus will advance the organization’s work across five areas of community impact: Kids and Education, Journalism, Energy and the Environment, Health and Wellness, and Arts and Culture.
It will also expand opportunities for public events, hands-on learning, local storytelling, musical performances, and partnerships with organizations throughout southeast Michigan.
Set in historic Milwaukee Junction, the Piquette building was known as the Autocar Service Building, a producer of heavy duty trucks founded in 1899 and still in production today in Indiana and Alabama.
The project will add modern broadcast, production, education, and performance facilities while returning the property to active use in a neighborhood central to Detroit’s history of innovation. Sachse Construction in Detroit is renovating the property.
“The story of this building mirrors the story of public media in this city,” Homberg adds. “It is grounded in Detroit’s history but being transformed to serve what comes next. This campus represents confidence in our city, confidence in our mission and confidence in what we can accomplish when our community comes together.”
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