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KCUR, KWJC ordered to vacate building

T

TheRob

radiofan2023 said:
Terrible news - UMKC should have had a plan in place already to vacate the building, rather than springing this on people during the holidays.
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The school probably didn't realize how bad of shape the building was in to begin with. I, for one, am greatful that the school is providing backup supports, including boxes, for the necessary moves. Just think how much *less* notice would have been given if the stations were in a building not owned by the university!
 
radiofan2023 said:
Terrible news - UMKC should have had a plan in place already to vacate the building, rather than springing this on people during the holidays.
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I know UMKC operates differently from the Columbia campus much of the time, but there does seem to be an institutional bias in the system toward tearing a building down the moment a major problem is discovered with it. At Columbia, a whole bunch of buildings on the White Campus met the wrecking ball a couple of years ago because of structural and other problems.

I suppose UMKC could buy another bungalow near Rockhill Road and put the radio stations in there. I never thought the Troost location was particularly good. I'll have to look up to see if KCUR was there when I was living in Kansas City (actually just about a mile away not far from Brookside Boulevard).
 
Mark Roberts said:
I know UMKC operates differently from the Columbia campus much of the time, but there does seem to be an institutional bias in the system toward tearing a building down the moment a major problem is discovered with it. At Columbia, a whole bunch of buildings on the White Campus met the wrecking ball a couple of years ago because of structural and other problems.

I suppose UMKC could buy another bungalow near Rockhill Road and put the radio stations in there. I never thought the Troost location was particularly good. I'll have to look up to see if KCUR was there when I was living in Kansas City (actually just about a mile away not far from Brookside Boulevard).
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It's probably more cost effective to rent somewhere until they find a new place to move to rather than pay out the nose to redo the foundation of the building and the HVAC, etc.

They could move to the Plaza as part of the redevelopment going on there. Lockton just announced they're building a brand new campus in Leawood in the next few years and moving from the Plaza.
 
radiofan2023 said:
It's probably more cost effective to rent somewhere until they find a new place to move to rather than pay out the nose to redo the foundation of the building and the HVAC, etc.

They could move to the Plaza as part of the redevelopment going on there. Lockton just announced they're building a brand new campus in Leawood in the next few years and moving from the Plaza.
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But KCUR needs something now; reading the article, I get the sense that not all the details of Plaza redevelopment have been hashed out yet.
 
A quick newspaper search indicates that KCUR has been in that building since 1999. Before that, it was the Student Services Center for UMKC.

My M Street Directories from the 1990s give the address as 5100 Rockhill Road, but that may be the main UMKC address.
 
Turns out the KCUR studios have been at 4825 Troost since early 1985. It took about four months to move everything from its previous location in what originally was a residential duplex at 5327 Holmes. Student Services was also there at the time. In the 1990s and 2000s, the Holmes address was home to "Communiversity", which offered various courses to those in the community at low or no cost. As of April 2022, Street View shows the house still there on Holmes.
 
And now I remember that I've been in that building that KCUR is being forced to vacate. Probably 1995 or 1996, for the meeting of a computer users' group that a friend had invited me to. What's now the STEM Alliance was also in the building. I guess there wasn't much memorable about 4825 Troost at the time.
 
I was going to say it looked like the building I went to when I tried to get on with KCUR part-time in either '97 or '98. I didn't remember exactly where it was, though.

Ultimately, my college girlfriend told me she wasn't coming up for the summer unless I dropped the part-time radio jobs. So, I gave up the radio jobs. They were volunteer anyway. I didn't end up with her in the end either!
 
Kent said:
I was going to say it looked like the building I went to when I tried to get on with KCUR part-time in either '97 or '98. I didn't remember exactly where it was, though.

Ultimately, my college girlfriend told me she wasn't coming up for the summer unless I dropped the part-time radio jobs. So, I gave up the radio jobs. They were volunteer anyway. I didn't end up with her in the end either!
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What stations were you volunteering with?
 
Kent said:
I was going to say it looked like the building I went to when I tried to get on with KCUR part-time in either '97 or '98. I didn't remember exactly where it was, though.

Ultimately, my college girlfriend told me she wasn't coming up for the summer unless I dropped the part-time radio jobs. So, I gave up the radio jobs. They were volunteer anyway. I didn't end up with her in the end either!
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You didn't end up with her, and she didn't end up with you. In the long run, those situations usually end up for the best! I hope you are happy in that realm now!
 
This KCTV5 article has a bit more info on the building - there are a few more tenants besides KCUR and Classical KC. Those additional organizations will have to find new spaces somewhere else, too:
www.kctv5.com

UMKC orders KCUR radio station to vacate ‘uninhabitable’ building by Jan. 31

KCUR reported that the station has not yet secured a new building. It is unclear whether UMKC will provide any additional financial support other than moving expenses.
www.kctv5.com www.kctv5.com
 
The New Chico said:
You didn't end up with her, and she didn't end up with you. In the long run, those situations usually end up for the best! I hope you are happy in that realm now!
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Thanks for the good words. While it was a fun summer that ended sooner than I would've liked, that messy breakup was one of the big factors that got me back into radio after I moved out of KC about three years later. When I told my mom I was going to start sending some of my college radio tapes to the local radio stations, she said she'd always be a fan of mine but that I should be ready for lots of rejection. My response was, "What can they do to me that SHE hasn't already done?" As luck would have it, a format change was about to happen at the oldies station, and the Top-40 station that was about to replace it needed some bodies. I'd say I'm doing alright these days, though I'm no longer in radio.

I haven't talked to her in almost 20 years (and that most recent time was the only time since January 1999), but, last I'd heard, she was running her own business in the field she'd studied in college.

BTW - Last night, a clip I had with the oldies station's logo broke. It lasted almost 25 years longer than the radio station did!

1766598759198.png
 
As of January 24, KCUR has packed up most of its stuff. In this Instagram post, the pregnant news director says some newscasts will be recorded in closets. They still have not announced a new lease anywhere.

www.instagram.com

KCUR News on Instagram: "KCUR’s building is sinking into the ground 🚧 And we don’t know quite yet where we’re all going. Just before Christmas, KCUR staff were told by the University of Missouri-Kansas City that our offices will soon be”uninhabitabl

1,384 likes, 35 comments - kcur893 on January 22, 2026: "KCUR’s building is sinking into the ground 🚧 And we don’t know quite yet where we’re all going. Just before Christmas, KCUR staff were told by the University of Missouri-Kansas City that our offices will soon be”uninhabitable” – and the...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 


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