DENVER — Three people were arrested Thursday for criminal trespassing at 123 Speer Boulevard, which served as Denver7’s home for more than a half-century but now sits vacant.
Denver police were called there around 3 p.m. Thursday and made the arrests following a search of the building, the department said.
Denver7 operated out of 123 Speer from 1969 until earlier this year, when it moved to 2323 Delgany Street near Coors Field. Denver7’s parent company sold the building at 123 Speer to a developer back in 2021 after a push by some residents to save the building under landmark status failed.
The station's full news operation had relocated to 2323 Delgany by mid-July.
In the time since, vandals have sprayed graffiti on the brutalist building’s rooftop facades. It was not immediately clear what the individuals accused of criminal trespassing were doing at the building Thursday.
Thursday's arrests mark the latest in at least 16 calls for service at 123 Speer since Oct. 1. Four burglaries have been reported there since August, along with one additional report of “other crime,” according to public crime data.
The building has been added to Denver’s list of neglected and derelict buildings. The city defines the structures on the list as “unoccupied buildings that city inspectors have identified as unsafe, nuisance, habitually in violation of city codes or at least one year behind in property taxes” and that “cause safety and quality-of-life problems for neighborhoods.”
We reached out to the city to get a pulse on the future plans for the building. Ryan Huff, communications director for the city's Community Planning and Development (CPD) department, tells us the building owner has not yet sought a permit to demolish the building, though the city expects it to soon.
"We are working with the building owner on a maintenance plan for the vacant building to ensure it’s secure," Huff wrote in an email. "On Thursday, CPD boarded up the structure to prevent future trespassing."
Denver7 also reached out to the building owner, Property Markets Group, for comment late Thursday and has not yet heard back.
- We revisited our rich history at Speer & Lincoln as part of our 70th anniversary celebration in 2023. Take a trip down memory lane in the photo gallery below:
Celebrating 70 years of Denver7