CenturyLink to leave HQ building less than year after replacing Qwest's blue light with its logo?

Update below: It's barely been a month since CenturyLink finished replacing Qwest's blue light with its own logo at 1801 California Street, one of the most familiar structures in downtown Denver. Now come reports that the company may be vacating the building less than a year from now...

By Michael Roberts

September 16, 2011

Audio By Carbonatix

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Update below: It's barely been a month since CenturyLink finished replacing Qwest's blue light with its own logo at 1801 California Street, one of the most familiar structures in downtown Denver.

Now come reports that the company may be vacating the building less than a year from now.

This information comes from the Denver Business Journal, which reports that the building's sale is pending -- and that CenturyLink is expected to split when its lease comes due on June 30, 2012.

We've reached out to CenturyLink spokesman John Hall to get his take on these assertions; when and if he responds, we'll update this post.

Update, 12:26 p.m. September 16: Just heard from CenturyLink spokesman John Hall, who shares the same statement provided to other media outlets, He writes: "CenturyLink is in negotiations with the current owner of 1801 California Street as we look ahead to when our current lease expires in June, 2012. We are hopeful that we will continue to have a presence at that location, but we are not in a position to discuss the terms of the negotiations."

Below, take a look at photos of the sign change provided to us by CenturyLink.

More from our Calhoun: Wake-Up Call archive: "Elitch Gardens fireworks show lights up the night, but fizzles with some downtown residents."

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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