St. Louis Public Radio to Break Ground on New Midtown Station April 15

{rendering of new STL Public Radio in Midtown}

Groundbreaking has been set for St. Louis Public Radio and the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ new home in Grand Center. Plans to move the station to the City of St. Louis Midtown neighborhood were announced in November 2008. Rumored start dates have come and gone, the most recent was to be summer 2010. Now it's official, Friday, April 15 will see the first dirt turned for the development, slated to be completed in 12 months.

Located at 3651 Olive, the three-story, 27,000 square foot, $12M project will include more than just the radio studio and offices. A "Public Media Commons" is planned for the space between KETC to the west and the new KWMU building. As first reported on Berger's Beat in January, the space will feature "large-scale interactive audio/visual and cultural experiences." The project will be a collaboration between the Nine Network of Public Media; UMSL-St. Louis, St.Louis Public Radio and Grand Center, Inc.