Post Bulletin puts downtown property on the market

The Post Bulletin is looking to part ways with its longtime headquarters.

The newspaper has put its downtown Rochester location on the market for $22 million, according to a property listing from realtor Darin Groteboer.

The listing price is nearly four times higher than the $5.6 million valuation given by the county. It has not been uncommon, however, for downtown real estate transactions to exceed their estimated values many times over since the launch of the Destination Medical Center development project.

The 1.86-acre property, located at 18 First Avenue SE, is situated between the soon-to-be-complete Hilton hotel and the recently-remodeled Mayo Civic Center. The real estate listing says the site presents an “incredibly rare re-development opportunity in the red hot downtown Rochester area.”

The paper has been at the site — which is now home to its newsroom, business operations, printing and distribution — since the mid 1950s. It has expanded several times on the property, most recently in 2004, when it spent $3.4 million on a distribution center on the north side of the site.

According to the real estate listing, the P-B plans to enter into a 12-month leaseback with the new owner.

Ken Nelson, the paper’s publisher, has not responded to our request for comment. In a story published to the P-B website, Nelson said the sale of the property will not affect the publication of the paper.

“We will be looking for a [new] location that will meet our unique requirements for printing and distribution," said Nelson.

The Post Bulletin is the state’s third largest newspaper with a purported daily readership of about 70,000 (though we are told by former employees the actual number is likely half that).

Like many papers, the P-B has experienced some financial setbacks in recent years, underscored by a series of layoffs in the newsroom and the discontinuation of a Friday print edition.

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