By: Joe Strupp It looks like tough economic times have forced The Plain Dealer in Cleveland to try leasing part of its downtown location, and sell 50 acres in a nearby town.
"The Plain Dealer is trying to rent out part of its office and garage space near downtown Cleveland and sell 50 unused acres at its Tiedeman Production and Distribution Center in Brooklyn," a Plain Dealer blog item reports. "The newspaper has signed an agreement with the Cleveland office of brokerage firm Grubb & Ellis to lease out up to 42,500 square feet on the first floor of The Plain Dealer's employee parking garage on St. Clair Avenue.
"The paper also is hiring Cresco Real Estate of Independence to assess the newspaper's downtown office building and talk to tenants about occupying empty space."
"It's just a matter of trying to utilize excess resources to the betterment of the whole operation," Plain Dealer Publisher Terrance C.Z. Egger said in the posting.
The item added that the paper "has battled declining circulation and advertising in recent years. Buyouts and layoffs have reduced the number of newsroom employees from 372 in 2006 to 240 now."
The blog also stated that the paper may offer part of its building at East 18th Street and Superior Avenue to "professional companies such as law firms, accounting firms or advertising agencies."
The paper plans to market the first floor of its three-story parking garage to tenants "such as auto rental businesses or mechanics."
The Brooklyn land is part of 85 acres the paper bought in the late 1990s, which currently includes its printing and distribution plant, but also other unoccupied areas.
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