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Scripps plans to sell KMGH building for redevelopment


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This was talked about in the Scripps thread a few weeks ago, but I thought this might be worth its own thread as this could drag on for a while.

 

Scripps wants to move KMGH to a new location (specific site TBA) and has reached an agreement with a developer to demolish the existing building at Speer and Lincoln and replace it with a mixed use housing and retail development. However, some preservationists have filed a petition with the city that the building is historically significant because of its brutalist architecture. The issue is going up to the Denver City Council in the upcoming weeks.

 

KMGH did a full, 8 minute long 360º report on it a few days ago and talked to all sides. I thought this was an interesting and also pretty balanced way for a station to cover a rather unusual story about itself.

 

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/360/denver7-building-sparks-heated-debate-council-seeks-compromise-as-group-fights-for-landmark-status?fbclid=IwAR2v1gCXTQnH3HrG5_hm4WjU_IeJK5QdRsLg8IY9eksssZvucSe0jpu3eOw

 

As far as I see it, I'm usually in favor of adaptive reuse of buildings, but I really don't see how this building is all that special. It seems like it would take a lot to rehab it into something useful. It would be a great location for another 10-15 story mixed use building. There hasn't been anything said about where KMGH would move, but I think it'd be cool if they could find a site in the RiNo neighborhood.

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Having visited the building, it's not a collaborative space whatsoever. The main building space are separated into small multi-level floors.

 

The restaurant Racine's was closed in late 2019 in anticipation of this new development. However, I've learned that KMGH wants to remain in the same location. They would like to scrape the lot and building a station at it's current location. While I've recommended that they move to the Central Park neighborhood where vacant lots are plentiful, I think that the drive from there into Denver is a reason that maybe they don't want to move.

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Yeah, KMGH has prime real estate, and they are within blocks of all the other stations downtown. Maybe they could construct a new building in the parking lot of the current one and then gradually move over. I drive past their station frequently, and I just don't see what makes it worthy of landmark status. The most distinctive thing about it to me is the electronic billboard on top.

 

...and I miss Racine's 😭

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1 hour ago, KRAP-TV said:

Yeah, KMGH has prime real estate, and they are within blocks of all the other stations downtown. Maybe they could construct a new building in the parking lot of the current one and then gradually move over. I drive past their station frequently, and I just don't see what makes it worthy of landmark status. The most distinctive thing about it to me is the electronic billboard on top.

 

...and I miss Racine's 😭


They are within blocks of all the other stations downtown - KMGH is in the neighborhood of competing news stations. Right across the street (also on Lincoln and Speer) is the duopoly of CW2 KWGN and FOX31 KDVR. Some few blocks east on Speer is KUSA NBC 9. Some few block north on Lincoln Street is KCNC CBS 4. 

Maybe they could construct a new building in the parking lot of the current one and then gradually move over - Good idea. Channel 7 has done that before in the 1960s when they were KLZ-TV and a CBS affiliate. That is, build that then-new "brutalist" building right next door to a former auto dealership, which KLZ converted into a radio/TV studio since sign on in the 50s. NBC 2 KPRC Houston did the same thing. They consrtuced the brand-new, state-of-the-art, current broadcast building, which was right next door to the old building built in 1972. After that, the 1972 building was demolished. NBC 2 Houston did it, and possibly, so can ABC 7. Construct a new building in the parking lot of the current one and then gradually move over.

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If they were to build a new building in the parking lot, there’s still the question of what would happen to the original building. The story says developers interested in saving it have looked at it and walked away, saying it was either impossible or too expensive. So it would likely just sit empty which is rather pointless. 

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21 hours ago, KRAP-TV said:

Yeah, KMGH has prime real estate, and they are within blocks of all the other stations downtown. Maybe they could construct a new building in the parking lot of the current one and then gradually move over. I drive past their station frequently, and I just don't see what makes it worthy of landmark status. The most distinctive thing about it to me is the electronic billboard on top.

 

...and I miss Racine's 😭

 

I miss Racine's too! I had so many great family gatherings there.

20 hours ago, newsteam13 said:


They are within blocks of all the other stations downtown - KMGH is in the neighborhood of competing news stations. Right across the street (also on Lincoln and Speer) is the duopoly of CW2 KWGN and FOX31 KDVR. Some few blocks east on Speer is KUSA NBC 9. Some few block north on Lincoln Street is KCNC CBS 4. 

Maybe they could construct a new building in the parking lot of the current one and then gradually move over - Good idea. Channel 7 has done that before in the 1960s when they were KLZ-TV and a CBS affiliate. That is, build that then-new "brutalist" building right next door to a former auto dealership, which KLZ converted into a radio/TV studio since sign on in the 50s. NBC 2 KPRC Houston did the same thing. They consrtuced the brand-new, state-of-the-art, current broadcast building, which was right next door to the old building built in 1972. After that, the 1972 building was demolished. NBC 2 Houston did it, and possibly, so can ABC 7. Construct a new building in the parking lot of the current one and then gradually move over.

 

And the former parking structure of Racine's could serve as temporary parking for KMGH until the new building is finished.

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On 5/1/2021 at 8:13 AM, nickp said:

“By far the best broadcast building in Denver,” said architect David Wise

 

Having worked in that building and down the street at another station I wholeheartedly disagree with this guy. The building looks like a prison from the outside, and is not a functional layout for 21st century broadcasting or newsgathering. That city block and KMGH would be much better served if it was redeveloped.

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1 hour ago, MidwestTV said:

 

This alone is enough reason to demolish it. That was a rough phase of architecture.

Careful there. Brutalism, IMO, has produced some of the most beautiful, unique buildings. (See I.M. Pei.)

 

It has also produced some of the ugliest buildings, like this one. 

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3 hours ago, MarkBRollins88_v2 said:

Careful there. Brutalism, IMO, has produced some of the most beautiful, unique buildings. (See I.M. Pei.)

 

It has also produced some of the ugliest buildings, like this one. 

 

FAX. 😉

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46 minutes ago, appleachian said:

Was this even from anyone who genuinely wanted to save this building?  When I read the GM’s editorial about this originally the first thought that came to my mind was some media haters playing chess with KMGH. 


Yes. At least one of the three people who filed the petition was an architect who thought it was a special building worth saving. KMGH interviewed him in the 360° story I posted. The majority of the people who spoke opposing it in last night’s meeting, however, were neighbors opposed to another high density housing development.

 

Anyone who wants to see a “good” example of Brutalism in Denver can always swing by the Federal Reserve Bank on the 16th Street Mall, which unfortunately replaced the stunning Tabor Grand Opera House.

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