Arizona Public Media broke ground Tuesday afternoon on the Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media, a new facility within the University of Arizona Tech Park at the Bridges.
Once completed, the state-of-the-art building will feature upgraded production and broadcast technology, improved community engagement spaces and create new opportunities for more original local content for and about Southern Arizona.
Gene Robinson, AZPM's chief operating officer, told a crowd of nearly 100 at the groundbreaking ceremony that the space represents more than a new building. The site will become a catalyst for positive change throughout the community and "a hub of creativity, information sharing and community engagement, in an era when information is key and creating connections is more vital than ever."
"The establishment of this public media facility underscores our commitment to fostering an informed and united community," Robinson said. "This facility will be a platform for students to be trained, voices to be heard, stories to be shared and ideas to flourish."
A $65 million capital campaign, called Bridging Communities, will fund the project. AZPM donors and their estate gifts have raised more than $56 million. The public phase of the capital campaign launched in September 2023 to secure the remaining funding for the building.
The 61,500-square-foot building is designed to meet current and future technical and broadcast requirements, including the replacement of much of AZPM's aging radio and television broadcast production infrastructure as they transition television operations to 4K high dynamic range production, and in preparation for the conversion to a new television broadcast standard.
The building is the newest upcoming addition to the 65-acre Tech Park at The Bridges, near East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway. The Bridges is part of a larger, 350-acre, multi-use development that also includes residential and retail elements.
AZPM is currently located in the basement and sub-basement of the university's Modern Languages Building, where the organization operates three television programs, four radio programs and a number of digital services. The station also produces a variety of original local productions.
The new center will allow AZPM to better serve Southern Arizona residents, support the education and training of University of Arizona students, improve visibility and community access, and provide a sense of place for AZPM in the community.
"This is an incredible opportunity, as a land grant university," said University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins. "Our students will benefit from this. Our incredible journalism department and faculty will benefit. Service to our community is a big part of what we do as a land grant university. … This is going to be an iconic, futuristic building that will be the envy of all of your peers around the country. I couldn't be prouder to be here, to be a part of this."
Robinson and Robbins spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony alongside University of Arizona Foundation President JP Roczniak; Bruce Dusenberry and Lynne Wood Dusenberry, co-chairs of AZPM's Bridging Communities capital campaign; and Paul Lindsey, vice chair and facility committee chair for AZPM's community advisory board.
"I can only imagine what the next 65 years will bring in this new facility," Roczniak said. "We're really excited about the future, and it starts today with your support."
With shovels in hand, AZPM and university representatives were joined by namesake donor Paul Baker and other supporters to officially mark the beginning of construction.
"We are going to put public media and Southern Arizona on the map, and beyond," Wood Dusenberry said.