KMOJ, 'The People's Station,' plans new building after Blue Line relocation
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KMOJ Radio officials announced plans Wednesday for its new home base in north Minneapolis.
The station has served the Black community in Minneapolis since the 1970s with public affairs programming and hip-hop, jazz, R&B, blues, gospel and reggae music.
Their headquarters are currently located on West Broadway and North Penn avenues, but station management learned from Metro Transit officials that its location was in the middle of proposed Blue Line extension plans.
“The Blue Line was a spark because it was going to cause our building to be razed,” said Freddie Bell, KMOJ’s CEO and general manager.
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Bell said the station considered all options, including whether to lease or own. They decided they wanted to own their building and looked for a location to build.
The planned $17 million broadcasting facility will be on Lowry and Oliver Avenues North.
The Center for Communication and Development, which runs “The People’s Station,” also launched a fundraising campaign at the Wednesday ceremony. Station leadership, the public and politicians gathered, sharing KMOJ memories and listening to old-school R&B music.
Bell told the audience he was confident about pulling off the plans.
“If we can make it through COVID and not miss one hour of broadcasting, we can build this radio station,” Bell said.
With the help of State Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, who Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said was able to secure $1 million in funding, station leadership was able to purchase land at Lowry and Oliver.
“This is the ideal spot, and this is going to be our forever home,” Bell said.
Champion talked about growing up and listening to the music of KMOJ. He said he knows people who have moved away from Minnesota but still stream KMOJ around the world.
“We now stand at this moment to submit KMOJ’s place in history,” he said. The station “must return to the training of the next generation of communication specialists and experts.”
Bell says the future broadcast center is expected to be completed in 2028. He said he’s excited about the crowd's early reaction.
“Based on what I'm seeing here today, there is a positive reaction to what we're planning to do, and I couldn't be more excited,” he said.
