Gannett Co., the parent company of The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, has put its Phoenix printing facility up on the market.
The property, which totals 300,000 square feet on 20 acres within the Deer Valley area, is listed for $47.7 million, in accordance with the offering memo. The constructing is situated at nineteenth Avenue and Williams Drive and includes 36 truck docks.
The offering lists the property as a sale and lease-back, meaning The Republic would lease the space for its printing facilities after the sale.
Sale and lease-back arrangements are a way for businesses to sell a property to unlock capital while continuing to occupy the power post-sale.
Related: Gannett, parent of The Republic, continues cost-cutting measures
Along with The Republic’s print edition, the plant also prints USA Today, The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, The Recent York Times, Arizona Each day Star from Tucson, Arizona Each day Sun from Flagstaff, and plenty of other publications which are distributed throughout Arizona and into Recent Mexico and California.
Phoenix Newspapers Inc., which was purchased by Gannett in 2000, has owned the location since 1987.
A Gannett spokesperson said the corporate doesn’t comment on real estate transactions before they close.
Gannett leases space across the country
The Phoenix printing facility move is comparable to Gannett’s handling of The Republic and azcentral.com office in downtown Phoenix, which was sold in 2018 for $37.65 million.
Phoenix-based ViaWest Group bought the 10-story office constructing and parking garage situated at 200 E. Van Buren Street. The Republic and azcentral.com offices have remained in that constructing.
Gannett, based in McLean, Virginia, leases and owns property throughout the country. Based on documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the corporate occupies about 9 million square feet of space within the U.S., about 5.3 million is leased.
Lately, Gannett has consolidated printing operations. Because the start of 2020, the corporate ceased greater than 60 printing operations as a part of “ongoing cost reduction programs,” in accordance with SEC filings.
Based on a news release from early October, Gannett expects its real estate and other asset sales in 2022 to range from $65 million to $75 million. On the time, the corporate had about $80 million in real estate sales within the pipeline.
Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek.
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