Teevee station KHOU is giving up on its 3.2-acre bayou-side home on Allen Pkwy. after repeated flooding and will soon be listing it for sale, according to a staff member’s Facebook post. The organization did file a permit for $594,740 worth of restoration work after Harvey between August and October, and hired 2 services to help with the clean-up — including Lewisville-based MrRestore, pictured above outside the building on August 30. Before Harvey, the studio enjoyed a 16-year dry run bookended by waters from Tropical Storm Allison back in 2001.
The 52,000-sq.-ft. studio, home to Channel 11 for 57 years, took on 5 ft. of water during the recent storm, forcing its staff to relocate broadcasting activity 3 times within the same day: first to a second floor conference room, then 2 blocks east on Allen Pkwy. to the Federal Reserve Bank, and finally to Houston Public Media’s office on Elgin St. just off I-45, where the news operation has now been headquartered for just over 2 months. That co-location wouldn’t be permanent, KHOU meteorologist Brooks Garner reported last month, although he indicated at that time that the station had not as yet decided whether to return home or seek a new venue.
Photos tweeted out by KHOU reporters of their original home showed the building at 1945 Allen Pkwy. taking on water during the storm. Here’s what the lobby looked like:
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The broadcast studio, less than a year old and still in use by anchor Len Cannon when water began to enter, was also destroyed — along with the newsroom and control room:
Photos: MrRestore (first), Grace White (second), Doug Delony (third)
They will most likely end up on the East End. Not too many high ground places on the west side they will pay for
It’d be brilliant to build a studio right on the eventual park capping 69 through East Downtown … would be a wait but imagine that backdrop and park setting for live shots
It would be a shame for them to move as it is a fantastic location.
Perhaps what they should do is work in a temporary location and while rebuilding on the same site after elevating the site on fill (not likely, as it would take a huge amount) or with a creative and attractive design based on cantilevered piers.
I think Downtown Houston would be a good spot for KHOU-11. Downtown Dallas is home to 2 TV Stations; KDFW-FOX 4 & WFAA.
Downtown will never happen for KHOU …. too expensive for the room they need
@WR You think Tegna doesn’t have the money? They do, especially after they sell their current place. They have sister stations in expensive downtown spots, including most recently their station in Seattle.
Word on the street is KHOU has narrowed it down to a specific property downtown or another one in uptown. Downtown would be better given uptown traffic and the upcoming 59/610 nightmare construction. Also downtown is a bit hipper and on the rise.