CAI, the GBH-owned public radio station that covers Cape Cod and the Islands, may not be relocating from its beloved 19th-century headquarters in Woods Hole after all.

Two weeks after announcing it was selling CAI’s building at 3 Water Street, GBH now says it’s prepared to consider a possible contingent offer from the Woods Hole Community Association that would allow the station to remain in place.

News of the initial sale had generated fierce blowback from some community members, who voiced frustration that they hadn’t been notified earlier and described a deep connection to both the radio station and the building that houses it.

Susan Goldberg, GBH’s president and CEO, acknowledged that pushback in an open letter emailed Friday to CAI staff and the Woods Hole Community Association, or WHCA. She expressed regret for not seeking input before plans for the original sale were finalized.

“We also heard from some of you who were dismayed that we were not more collaborative in our decision-making about selling the property,” Goldberg wrote. “For that we apologize. Our work is built on trust and we’re sorry for letting you down. We certainly could have done a better job sharing our needs and challenges, and hearing from you about potential solutions.”

In her statement, Goldberg also acknowledged the unique role the station plays on Woods Hole and across Cape Cod.

“Many of you expressed your thoughts with us: having CAI broadcast from the house on the hill is like a beacon, a reminder that your local radio station is still there, at a time when so many other local media outlets are disappearing,” she said.

Goldberg released her open letter after spending Thursday on Cape Cod, meeting with CAI staff and the WHCA in Woods Hole.

The WHCA previously announced it had secured nearly $2 million in funding commitments to purchase 3 Water Street, also known as the Captain Davis House, in case GBH’s initial sales plan fell through. The group also said if it succeeds in acquiring the property, it would offer CAI a chance to remain in the space rent free for a period of time.

According to Catherine Bumpus, president of the board of the Woods Hole Community Association, the WHCA will use $300,000 from its cash reserves, as well as additional pledges from community members, if the sale proceeds. That includes $300,000 from the Woods Hole Foundation, a separate organization.

“We feel that the goal of the purchase price is very, very attainable,” Bumpus told GBH News.

After Goldberg’s statement was released, Bumpus called GBH’s willingness to consider the WHCA-led offer “heartening.”

“We look forward to a positive collaboration with GBH,” Bumpus said.

More than a building, advocates say

Purchasing the building, which GBH owns outright, and then allowing CAI to remain rent free might seem counterintuitive. But Bumpus said both the building itself and CAI’s presence in it have considerable value.

The building, which dates back to the mid-1800s, used to be a sea captain’s house. It’s in a prominent spot, right next to Woods Hole Terminal, where Steamship Authority ferries transport passengers to Martha’s Vineyard.

“The building sits right at the entrance to the village,” Bumpus said. “It is a historic structure. It is lovingly maintained … It sort of sets the feel as you come in or as you leave.”

“The activities that go on in the radio station build community both for the people in the village and help our community reach out to the rest of the region and the rest of the world, and we value that activity immensely,” Bumpus added.

3 Water Street has been CAI’s home since it was founded in 2000. It’s also home to Atlantic Public Media, whose executive director, Jay Allison, was sharply critical of the original sales plan.

Allison, who was CAI’s founder, told GBH News he was bullish on the possibility of a WHCA-led purchase.

“My response has reflected the two things I’m passionate about in my life, and those are public radio and the place I live,” Allison said. “I want to see them come together, stay together and move forward together. So if WGBH and the WHCA and the current buyer can come to an agreement, I think that’s a huge step forward for everybody.”

Mindy Todd, CAI’s general manager, did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Neither did Beth Colt, a local entrepreneur who was identified by A Cape Cod Voice’s Seth Rolbein as the original buyer.

Public media ‘faces financial headwinds’

GBH’s decision to sell 3 Water Street followed a round of layoffs at GBH earlier this year aimed at closing what was described as a $7 million budget gap. GBH also suspended production of three local TV shows at that time. No staff from CAI were laid off.

Goldberg’s open letter also detailed the financial pressures that led GBH to move forward with plans to sell the building in the first place — pressures that many other public media outlets across New England and the country are also experiencing.

“Public media — like all media — faces financial headwinds,” Goldberg wrote.

CAI is losing about $500,000 a year and has lost more than $2 million over the past five years, she said.

“GBH is responsible for those financial losses,” Goldberg wrote. “We need a new studio not only because we cannot afford to stay where we are, but for operational reasons, as well, including the need to upgrade our studio to meet specific broadcast standards.”

Once GBH decided to move, an offer for the property arrived quickly, Goldberg said.

“Now, assuming the Woods Hole Community Association comes forward with its promised offer we can evaluate that as well,” she said.

Goldberg stressed that the sale of the building was not a harbinger of editorial cuts at the station. Instead, Goldberg said, “we [will] continue to produce — and indeed expand — impactful local journalism for the Cape and Islands and beyond.”

Still, in an interview with GBH News Tuesday, Goldberg refused to rule out further cutbacks across GBH, including asset sales, layoffs or pay cuts.

“I can’t predict the future,” she said. “We are all dealing with a really complicated financial situation in media, as the financial underpinnings of the traditional television and radio business or the traditional newspaper or magazine business have changed utterly in the last 20 years, but particularly in the last 10.

“So we are no different from any other media company in needing to deal with financial concerns. And we need to be sustainable.”

This story was reported by Adam Reilly of GBH and edited by Eric Aasen with Connecticut Public. No members of GBH News’ leadership team were involved in the editing of this story, nor did they review it before it was published.

The story has been updated to include a response from Jay Allison, who said an initial request for comment from GBH News did not reach him.