Newspaper executives and political leaders celebrated the continued survival and colorful history of The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News on Wednesday at the official dedication of their new joint-headquarters building.
The 11-story building at the corner of Broadway and Colfax Avenue is the new home for The Post and the News, which have had a joint operating agreement since 2001. The newspapers maintain separate newsrooms that compete fiercely, said Gov. Bill Owens. “The citizens of Colorado are the winners,” he said.
More than 250 people attended, including executives from Denver-based ap, which owns The Denver Post, and from Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps Co., owner of the News.
Gov.-elect Bill Ritter was there, as were an array of other elected officials and business leaders.
MediaNews, the nation’s fourth-largest newspaper company, is based in the new building, as is the Denver Newspaper Agency, which handles the business operations for The Post and the News.
William Dean Singleton, vice chairman and chief executive of ap, called the $88 million building “the house that (Mayor) John Hickenlooper made us build.”
Singleton said there were options to locate elsewhere downtown that were much less expensive.
“We had a new mayor who said, ‘That’s not going to happen,”‘ Singleton said, noting that Hickenlooper wanted the building at its present location, where it could contribute to the revitalization of Civic Center.
Following the ribbon cutting, Hickenlooper said Singleton exaggerated his role.
“I was enthusiastic,” he said. “I did say, ‘You build here, and we will do everything we can to move heaven and earth to speed the permitting process.’ We do that with every large project.”
New York-based American Properties Inc. recently purchased the new building for $93.4 million. The DNA will lease the building from the property owner, Singleton said.
“We want our capital investments in newspapers, not real estate,” he said.
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
