WSVN Moving to Miramar?

[SoFloTVClassics 905]

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2023/08/11/fox-affiliate-wsvn-moving-to-broward-county.html

 

Okay this is big news!

 

I copied from South Florida business journal, in case you missed it.

 

 

"Fox affiliate WSVN Channel 7 filed plans for a new headquarters and broadcast station in Miramar, which would clear the way for major development in its current home in North Bay Village.

 

Meanwhile, station owner Sunbeam Properties is working on plans for a major mixed-use project in Miramar that’s connected to the relocation of the TV station, CEO Andy Ansin said.

 

The City Commission will consider the site plan and a special exemption for WSVN’s new station on eight acres at the southeast corner of Miramar Parkway and Red Road on Aug. 16. It’s located just off the Florida’s Turnpike exit onto Red Road.

 

Sunbeam already owns the vacant property, which is part of its Miramar Park of Commerce.

 

The two-story station would total 71,272 square feet and have 262 parking spaces plus a 65-foot communications tower. Ansin said the dishes would beam the station’s microwave signal from Miramar to the antenna farm near the county line, instead of the signal coming from North Bay Village.

 

The new facility would include news studio, a second production studio, a newsroom, a weather broadcasting room, video and production control rooms, executive offices, and a staff dining room and kitchen. Ansin said the building would be constructed to continue functioning during a Category 5 hurricane, with two generators, a fuel tank for vehicles, and a backup AC. It would also be on elevated land in case of flooding.

 

“The city of Miramar is a great place to do business and we understand the permitting process,” Ansin said. “The location at Turnpike interchange and Red Road is a wonderful place to gather news from. It’s centrally located. And it’s a good place for employees to get to and for us to hire from.”

 

WSVN has 300 employees and 30 job openings, with salaries for new positions as high as $135,000, he said. The new station would include a second studio so WSVN could fill programming and perhaps commercials and third-party productions while the newscasters are occurring in the other studio, he added.

 

Oklahoma City-based Rees is the architect of the project.

 

Ansin said moving WSVN to Miramar is conditioned on the approval of another project Sunbeam will present to the City Commission in a few months. Ansin said Sunbeam filed development plans for the northeast corner of Red Road and Miramar Parkway, seeking approval for about 2,800 apartments, a hotel, and about 300,000 square feet of commercial space, including about 40,000 for a grocer, 40,000 of entertainment and 120,000 square feet of restaurants.

 

“We need to have more services in Miramar before we move Channel 7 there,” Ansin said. “And also for the business park. In order to keep all these companies in Miramar, it’s necessary to have more services for their employees.”

 

Moving WSVN from North Bay Village would be complicated and expensive, Ansin said, as the station wouldn’t go off the air for a second. It would set up all the new equipment in Miramar while still broadcasting in North Bay Village, run some beta tests in Miramar, and then “flip the switch” to move the broadcast to Miramar, he said.

 

Pending approval, WSVN could move within three years, Ansin said.

 

The reason for the move: Sunbeam is pursuing a major mixed-use project in North Bay Village. In October, the developer won village approval for up to 7.3 million square feet of development on the 12.9 acres it owns there. WSVN has been in North Bay Village for 60 years, but its waterfront site is a prime development location.

 

Ansin said Sunbeam would start redevelopment on the south side of 79th Street first, in about 24 to 30 months, before redeveloping the WSVN property on the north side of the street. The first building would be a 40-story mixed-use tower, he said.

 

“It will create a whole new image for North Bay Village,” Ansin said. “We want retail and restaurant space on the water, and then on the second floor another restaurant with a big open terrace.”"

Edited August 13, 2023 by SoFloTVClassics

[RaleighTVBOI1 81]

On 8/13/2023 at 3:38 AM, SoFloTVClassics said:

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2023/08/11/fox-affiliate-wsvn-moving-to-broward-county.html

 

Okay this is big news!

 

I copied from South Florida business journal, in case you missed it.

 

 

"Fox affiliate WSVN Channel 7 filed plans for a new headquarters and broadcast station in Miramar, which would clear the way for major development in its current home in North Bay Village.

 

Meanwhile, station owner Sunbeam Properties is working on plans for a major mixed-use project in Miramar that’s connected to the relocation of the TV station, CEO Andy Ansin said.

 

The City Commission will consider the site plan and a special exemption for WSVN’s new station on eight acres at the southeast corner of Miramar Parkway and Red Road on Aug. 16. It’s located just off the Florida’s Turnpike exit onto Red Road.

 

Sunbeam already owns the vacant property, which is part of its Miramar Park of Commerce.

 

The two-story station would total 71,272 square feet and have 262 parking spaces plus a 65-foot communications tower. Ansin said the dishes would beam the station’s microwave signal from Miramar to the antenna farm near the county line, instead of the signal coming from North Bay Village.

 

The new facility would include news studio, a second production studio, a newsroom, a weather broadcasting room, video and production control rooms, executive offices, and a staff dining room and kitchen. Ansin said the building would be constructed to continue functioning during a Category 5 hurricane, with two generators, a fuel tank for vehicles, and a backup AC. It would also be on elevated land in case of flooding.

 

“The city of Miramar is a great place to do business and we understand the permitting process,” Ansin said. “The location at Turnpike interchange and Red Road is a wonderful place to gather news from. It’s centrally located. And it’s a good place for employees to get to and for us to hire from.”

 

WSVN has 300 employees and 30 job openings, with salaries for new positions as high as $135,000, he said. The new station would include a second studio so WSVN could fill programming and perhaps commercials and third-party productions while the newscasters are occurring in the other studio, he added.

 

Oklahoma City-based Rees is the architect of the project.

 

Ansin said moving WSVN to Miramar is conditioned on the approval of another project Sunbeam will present to the City Commission in a few months. Ansin said Sunbeam filed development plans for the northeast corner of Red Road and Miramar Parkway, seeking approval for about 2,800 apartments, a hotel, and about 300,000 square feet of commercial space, including about 40,000 for a grocer, 40,000 of entertainment and 120,000 square feet of restaurants.

 

“We need to have more services in Miramar before we move Channel 7 there,” Ansin said. “And also for the business park. In order to keep all these companies in Miramar, it’s necessary to have more services for their employees.”

 

Moving WSVN from North Bay Village would be complicated and expensive, Ansin said, as the station wouldn’t go off the air for a second. It would set up all the new equipment in Miramar while still broadcasting in North Bay Village, run some beta tests in Miramar, and then “flip the switch” to move the broadcast to Miramar, he said.

 

Pending approval, WSVN could move within three years, Ansin said.

 

The reason for the move: Sunbeam is pursuing a major mixed-use project in North Bay Village. In October, the developer won village approval for up to 7.3 million square feet of development on the 12.9 acres it owns there. WSVN has been in North Bay Village for 60 years, but its waterfront site is a prime development location.

 

Ansin said Sunbeam would start redevelopment on the south side of 79th Street first, in about 24 to 30 months, before redeveloping the WSVN property on the north side of the street. The first building would be a 40-story mixed-use tower, he said.

 

“It will create a whole new image for North Bay Village,” Ansin said. “We want retail and restaurant space on the water, and then on the second floor another restaurant with a big open terrace.”"

So in words this is about the money, so they tryna make the property more valuable by moving the station to another location. So they can redevelop there current property. I hope they continue the news plex studio look in the new building.