Fort Worth Star-Telegram seeks space for hybrid workforce, won’t renew downtown lease

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram over the next several months will transition out of the office space it has leased since 2011 at the corner of West Seventh and Throckmorton streets in downtown Fort Worth.

Steve Coffman, president and editor of the Star-Telegram, said the move will happen gradually and be complete by the time the company’s lease ends in September.

“While we have enjoyed this location since 2011, it no longer suits the needs of our employees or our company,” Coffman said. “Like many other organizations, we have adapted and learned new ways of working during the COVID-19 pandemic — ways that allow our employees the flexibility to work remotely.”

The majority of the Star-Telegram’s employees have worked remotely since the pandemic began in March 2020. As a result, Coffman said, the company requires less office space.

The Star-Telegram plans to move to a new office that is more appropriate for a hybrid workforce, an office that is designed to support shared workspaces and plenty of collaborative spaces for its newsroom employees, Coffman said.

“With the uncertainty of inflation, real estate prices and the current economy, we plan to navigate the path to a new permanent location carefully to make sure we end up in a space that meets the needs of our employees and makes sense for the business,” Coffman said.

The Star-Telegram newsroom will temporarily use shared office space in Fort Worth, Coffman said.

Nothing about the Star-Telegram’s move out of its current offices changes its dedication to local journalism or how the newsroom covers our communities, Coffman said, noting that the news staff has grown in the last year.

“The value of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram is not in brick and mortar,” he said. “It is in our employees and the work they do to help the people of Fort Worth and North Texas navigate the world around them.”