Fort Collins radio station to move during Music District construction

FORT COLLINS — Tenants of a central Fort Collins building have been scrambling to find new space – either temporary or permanent – as the Bohemian Foundation ramps up construction and renovation for its “Music District” project.

Much of the arched-front, south-facing two-story building at 619 S. College Ave., which is owned by the Bohemian Cos., has been occupied by community radio station KRFC-FM 88.9, but program director Charles Hale said the station will be moving its staff, studios, music collection and equipment by the end of the month.

The station will relocate to 330 S. College Ave., Hale said. “It’s College and Magnolia, next to the former Perkins restaurant,” Hale said Monday. “Our space is probably a little bit smaller, but it’s a temporary location. We’re anticipating about nine months” until KRFC can return to its current location.

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“It’s going to be a total remodel,” Hale said. “When we come back, we will have a larger footprint. They’re reconfiguring the entire building, so we’ll have a larger space.”

KRFC hired a project manager who moves radio stations professionally, Hale said, since an uplink to the station’s transmitter is involved. “We don’t anticipate any interruption in our broadcast. Essentially, the listener won’t know the difference.”

The move will cap a busy month for KRFC staffers, who plan live remote broadcasts this weekend from NewWestFest, a three-day downtown music event produced by Bohemian Nights LLC and the Downtown Fort Collins Business Association with support from the Bohemian Foundation.

Directly above KRFC, the offices of the Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Larimer County moved in June to space within the Center for Family Outreach, 1100 Poudre River Drive, just south of East Mulberry Street – and is likely to stay there. “It’s a great space, and they’re so flexible with using their meeting rooms,” said an alliance spokeswoman.

Scheduled for completion next year, Bohemian’s “Music District” will incorporate a shared space model within a central location to bring adult musicians and music-centric businesses and organizations together to cultivate talents, encourage connections and mentoring, and support professional development.

The project is to occupy several buildings on the west side of College north of Laurel Street. The buildings, surrounding streetscapes and parking area are to be refurbished to create a musician-inspired hub with spaces for tenant units, rehearsal spaces and practice rooms, a media room and a flexible-use space, along with green spaces and terraces. The buildings will be restored as much as feasible, creating a neighborhood-like gathering space, according to a foundation media release.

Fort Collins-based Davis Davis Architects is managing the design work while The Neenan Co. in Fort Collins is completing construction.