CAM Raleigh's downtown building being put up for sale
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CAM Raleigh's building in downtown Raleigh's Warehouse District. Photo: Visit Raleigh
A prominent piece of property in downtown Raleigh's Warehouse District is going up for sale.
Why it matters: The Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh — commonly known as CAM Raleigh — is selling its museum building while the organization determines its path forward in the city.
Driving the news: CAM stopped holding exhibitions at its 409 W. Martin St. space last year, citing difficulty raising enough money to cover the building's operating costs.
- For the past year, the museum's board has been working to determine how the organization can best move forward.
The big picture: It's not just CAM Raleigh facing financial headwinds. Arts nonprofits across the country have reported difficulties raising money and keeping up with rising costs over the past half a decade.
- The effort to open CAM Raleigh some 15 years ago took more than a decade of planning and funding.
What they're saying: Kate Ferguson Boes, vice chair of the CAM Raleigh board of directors, said selling the property will give CAM more time to determine its path forward without rushing. It's been working with a consultant over the past year.
- "We're moving with the headwinds of where we are as a organization, and where a lot of arts organizations are today," she told Axios, noting funding has been harder to come by after the pandemic. "The crux of it is we're selling this building … to invest in our mission, not a mortgage."
Zoom in: Revenue for the Contemporary Arts Foundation, which runs CAM, has fallen significantly over the past decade, according to financial filings.
- In 2025, the organization brought in around $567,000 in revenue. A decade prior, it had brought in around $1.2 million.
- At the same time, expenses had grown to around $767,000 last year.
- CAM has been in its current building since 2010, when it bought the property for nearly $1.3 million. Its current tax value is $11.1 million.
What's next: Boes said there's no timeline on when CAM Raleigh hopes to unveil its next steps. But it's exploring several ideas.
- "Do we go to a smaller space? Do we become a museum without walls? Do we partner with another organization and move to their campus, and what does that look like? That's kind of the next step of what we are doing," Boes said.