Workers this week began demolishing the brown “brutalist”-style architecture building formerly home to Channel 7 at 123 Speer Blvd.

The demolition, by general contractor Milender White, is expected to take 12 weeks. There will likely be impacts to traffic on the busy street corner at Speer, Lincoln Street and East 6th Avenue. 

Developer PMG plans to build an 11-story residential building called “Society Denver.” It bought the site for $35 million and recently received site development plan approval from Denver’s Community Planning and Development officials.

A group of area residents tried to save the hulking concrete building, built in 1969, by getting it designated as historical — but the effort failed. 

“The site has been secured with fencing and 24/7 security in anticipation of final demolition approvals,” according to a statement from PMG. “Demolition will take approximately 12 weeks, with precautions in place to minimize the impact of partial road closures on Speer, Lincoln, and 7th Avenue, and to limit disruptions to the neighborhood. Materials will be sorted and hauled off-site continuously, followed by backfilling and grading, and dust will be controlled through daily water cannon usage and street sweeping. The project team is looking forward to a fresh start for the neighborhood.”

The new multifamily building will be nearly twice the number of stories of the current, eight-sided building that was approved for demolition in 2021. But it’s smaller than the 12-story plan originally floated by the developers.

In July 2024, Channel 7 (KMGH) moved to its new location in Denver’s River North (RiNo) neighborhood at 2323 Delgany St.

It’s the sixth plan submitted for a new tower on the lot by the new property owners, New York-based developer Property Markets Group (PMG) and Greybrook Realty Partners, a Toronto-based private equity and asset management firm.

Plans include 481 residential units, a three-level parking garage, co-working offices and 9,600-square-feet of retail and restaurant space.

The latest proposed tower would be about 130 feet tall, below the 150-ft maximum and 12-story limit set by the Denver zoning view plane protecting Rocky Mountain views from Cheesman Park and the Botanic Gardens.

The development plans show mechanical equipment on the top floor where a 12th-floor would be.

Society Denver would have 331 parking spots designated for residents and 12 spots meant for ground floor shops.

The building would primarily face Speer Boulevard on its trapezoid-shaped lot surrounded by 6th and 7th avenues, and Lincoln and Sherman streets.

Site plans show the top seven floors would be reserved for residents and two floors on the second and third floor will have co-working office spaces. The fourth floor would have a roof deck and residential amenities.

It’s scheduled to be completed in 2027, according to PMG’s website.