Daniel J. Hoffheimer is of council with Taft Stettinius and Hollister in Cincinnati. Dan has supported Cincinnati Public Radio for decades as a listener, donor and board member.
First impressions of Cincinnati Public Radio’s new building in Evanston?
I thought it was fabulous, just fabulous, gorgeous, but utilitarian. And the fact that it’s a completely environmentally friendly building, and the first two story mass timber building is incredible. You almost have to see it to believe it. It is so efficiently laid out for the use of the public, and it’s in a community that really needs a space like this for concerts and debates. I can’t think of anything that the building is not going to accommodate.
I’ve watched all of you work in the current facilities for a long time, and I think you’ve done incredibly well considering what you’ve had to deal with but it’s just completely inadequate. There’s not enough room, and the equipment is not up to date. The new studios in the new building are very impressive and built from scratch in accordance with 21st search century standards and expectations.
The new building is environmentally friendly and the architects designed it in a way that it will be incredibly user-friendly; it’s going to accommodate the way that people learn and people work together for the next 50 to 75 years. Everything about the building says this is a major hub in this community. I really think people will be blown away.
You have been involved with local non-profits for decades. Why do you support Cincinnati Public Radio?
I’ve told this story before… I remember when I was nine years old my father plunked me down in front of the radio and told me I was going to hear a new radio station come on the air. And then we heard the bells and WGUC came on the air. About 30 years later I was on the board that organized a new nonprofit organization to take over ownership of WGUC from the University of Cincinnati. It’s something that’s really been particularly important to me over a long, long period of time.
I’m very committed to the community, and I’m going to keep doing things in Cincinnati, as long as I can.
I try to give something to CPR every year, and I made a personal commitment to the capital campaign for the building because this is really a once in a lifetime campaign. I want that to be part of a legacy that I leave behind. I’ve served on boards where we’ve done maybe two or three capital campaigns during the time I was on the board for different purposes, not necessarily for a building, maybe for scholarships, or other reasons. It’s actually amazing that there’s never been one at Cincinnati Public Radio. It’s absolutely amazing that it’s taken this long to actually come to fruition with a building that will stand for many, many decades to come.
Cincinnati Public Radio is ahead of the curve (not 10 years behind.)
Cincinnati Public Radio is recognized across the country. This building is really a bellwether for the future of public media. Other stations need to see what we’ve done here, learn from it, and try to replicate in their communities. (And a lot of those communities have a lot more money than we do. New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, we’re just little old Cincinnati, and we’ve done this.) It’s incredible
