October 11, 2018

KNKX will move Tacoma station to downtown site

Photo provided by KNKX [enlarge]

The station will build broadcast control and production rooms, offices, and a “living room” for concerts and gatherings.

The public radio station KNKX announced it will move from its longtime home on the Pacific Lutheran University campus to downtown Tacoma by next summer.

The station will move to a 7,600-square-foot space in the C.N. Gardner Building at 930 Broadway.

The move follows PLU's sale of the station, formerly called KPLU, to Pacific Public Media in 2016. Under the terms of the sale, KNKX must move off the PLU campus, located in Parkland, by the end of June 2019.

The station, which broadcasts on 88.5 FM, airs jazz and blues and news programs, including National Public Radio.

KNKX has started raising money to renovate and move to the new Tacoma space, a three-story historic building completed in 1907.

The station will build broadcast control and production rooms, offices, and a “living room” for concerts and gatherings. The building will be a base of operations for the station's South Sound reporting, live music and music education.

KNKX recently filed a pre-application with the city of Tacoma for tenant improvements. Detailed plans were not available, though construction is slated to start in mid-March.

KNKX also announced changes for its Seattle offices. The station's lease at 2601 Fourth Ave. in Belltown expires in June 2020. KNKX wants to expand to a 10,000-square-foot space to host live jazz, blues and student performances, and other events.

Combined costs for the station's new homes in Tacoma and Seattle, and for upgraded technology and expanded service, are an estimated $6 million.

The station operates a network of 12 radio signals that cover Western Washington.