By: Jim Rosenberg Dow Jones & Co. Inc. community newspaper subsidiary Ottaway Newspapers said it plans to build a combined office and production facility at its Seacoast Newspapers in Portsmouth, N.H.
The project will replace two buildings and a press now used to print Seacoast's daily, the 14,099-circulation Portsmouth Herald, as well as weeklies and other non-daily newspapers along the coast of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. Since Ottaway entered the growing market in 1978, its Seacoast unit expanded through acquisitions and new publications. Page-production volume on the existing Goss Community press with Dauphin Graphic Machines folder now equals that of a 37,400-circulation daily.
The new press will enable earlier delivery, increase page capacity by 50% and double color capacity, making possible single editions of 48 pages in four sections with 32 color pages. It also will expand the ability to launch publications and sell commercial-printing services, according to the company. New packaging equipment will allow insertion of other publications and freestanding ads into Seacoast's daily and weekly newspapers.
Housing the editorial and business headquarters, the new building will consolidate operations now conducted at separate sites, and Seacoast will sell two pieces of property, according to Operations Director Paul Briand. "Based on the sale of [those] assets," he said, net cost of the new building and equipment comes to approximately $17 million.
The processes of selecting a site and vendors are expected to begin immediately.
"We used Dario Designs ... for the master plan," said Briand, adding that the Framingham, Mass., firm is under consideration as architect for the project, which is scheduled for completion some time in 2006.
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