Channel 7 KMGH officials this week filed an official objection to the City of Denver designating its building at 123 E. Speer Blvd. a landmark.

The designation would prevent the sale of the property to a development company that wants to build multifamily housing there, according to documents filed with the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission.

“If approved, it would unduly harm Denver7’s growth and journalistic service to the community, impair positive growth and redevelopment at a key gateway to Downtown Denver, and impose challenging restrictions and costs on the building’s reuse,” according to a letter from Dean Littleton, Denver7’s vice president and general manager. “Applied here, landmark designation is simply the wrong tool.”

3 Denver residents seek landmark preservation status for Channel 7 building

The station applied for a certificate of non-historic status in December, so the building could be razed after being sold to a developer. But in January, three Denver residents filed a notice with the LPC they think the building deserves landmark status. Bradley Cameron, Michael Henry and David Lynn Wise are common names in Denver historic preservation circles, especially around the Capital Hill area.

“It’s a very prominent and significant building,” Cameron, a retired attorney, said previously. “It’s a significant part of Denver.”

But Littleton and Scripps Media Inc., the station’s owner, said they couldn’t find a potential buyer that didn’t want to demolish the building. The station has signed a letter of intent with New York-based developer Property Markets Group (PMG).

PMG and a local architecture firm explored the possibility of re-using the building, but they “concluded that such repurposing or incorporation is not feasible.”

PMG Managing Director Evan Schapiro said in an email statement Friday: “We see meaningful opportunity to add value to the community in the form of much-needed reasonably priced housing and inclusive street-level activation.”

“Over the past 30 years, PMG has earned national recognition for our relentless dedication to making thoughtful contributions to skylines and streetscapes,” Schapiro said. “Our philosophy is rooted in real estate development that elevates communities, from attainable to luxury housing, our projects are known for meticulous design and construction. That’s why we’re so excited about the prospect of purchasing this parcel from KMGH.”

Channel 7 hired Heritage Consulting Group, a national historic preservation firm, to file the rebuttal to the LPC and Denver residents’ assertion that the Brutalist style-architecture building is eligible for landmark status.

“Heritage did not find any historically significant event directly associated with the Denver7 property,” the report states. “As a radio and television news studio and broadcasting station, the journalists at Denver7 have reported on numerous historic events. These events, however, were only documented by the station.”

It also disputed the notion that it’s a shining example of Brutalist architecture: “The Denver7 Building, however, is simply a second-rate example of the Brutalist style, containing only elements of its characteristics.”

The report also contents the 5-story building is not a prominent part of the city skyline, as the staff and Denver residents assert.

“The Denver7 Building is not a prominent feature of Denver’s skyline, and the building’s design and materials are not unique to, or even unique within, Denver,” the report states.

Denver’s Channel 7 looking for new digs; debate over its 51-year home just beginning

Channel 7 also states the designation could “pose a risk to our operations.” The equipment needed to keep the station continually able to broadcast 24/7 sometimes requires replacing equipment attached to the building exterior. The station wouldn’t be able to do that without permission from the LPC if designated a landmark. They also wouldn’t be able to increase the building’s security with fencing and replacing the lobby glass windows with “opaque panels.”

“Permanent and inflexible landmark designation is not a good fit for this building and presents a serious threat to the very business this building was purposely built for,” according to a letter for Mike Epstein, vice president of Risk Management & Business Continuity for the E.W. Scripps Co.

“We’re hopeful Denver City Council will allow KMGH, as the owner of this property, to proceed with this sale as planned,” Schapiro said.

The LPC will set a date for public hearings on the matter as it makes a final determination, which would then go to the Denver City Council if the status is granted.