KPBS Unveils Plan to Raise $10.5 Million to Construct Telecommunications Center

Finally going public with one of the worst-kept secrets in town, the local public broadcasting stations on Wednesday announced a campaign to raise $10.5 million to build a new telecommunications facility.

The new complex would house KPBS television and radio, the KPBS radio reading service and other related groups. Although details of the plan are not final, the new building will be on land donated by San Diego State University.

On Wednesday, KPBS officials announced that $2 million had already been pledged to the campaign, including $1 million from the James S. Copley Foundation.

David C. Copley, president of Copley Press, and Judith Harris of La Jolla will chair the fund-raising drive. Harris has helped raise money for several San Diego groups, including the St. Vincent de Paul Joan Kroc Center, the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation and La Jolla Playhouse.

In the past year, KPBS officials have been reluctant to talk about the capital improvement project, even though it has been written about in several publications. KPBS General Manager Paul Steen said Wednesday’s announcement was designed to provide maximum “impetus” for the campaign.

KPBS hopes to break ground on the new facility within two years, Steen said.

The fund-raising campaign will rely primarily on individual solicitations, not the 70,000 members who pay dues to KPBS, Harris said.

“At this point, we’re trying to bring in new people and let the members rest for a while,” she said.

The KPBS offices and studios are now spread over the SDSU campus.

In many ways, “we’re really talking about the first facility for KPBS,” Steen said.

The board of directors of “Campaign for KPBS,” the name given to the new fund-raising group, will include Viviane Warren, chairwoman of the KPBS Community Advisory Board; Jack Williams, founder and owner of Pacific Recorders and Engineering Corp., and Darlene Shiley, chairwoman of the KPBS Producers Club and a member of the city of San Diego Arts and Culture Campaign.

KPBS-TV (Channel 15), which has been broadcasting for 23 years, airs programming supplied by the Public Broadcasting Service, as well as programs it produces in San Diego. KPBS-FM (89.5), which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is affiliated with National Public Radio.