Summit inks deal for news buildings
Summit Development L.L.C. of Norwalk has entered into a contractual agreement to buy the Greenwich Time building in Greenwich and the former Stamford Advocate building in Stamford from Tribune Co.
The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
Summit agreed to buy the buildings that once housed The Advocate at 75 Tresser Blvd. and that still house Greenwich Time at 20 East Elm St.
“We came to an agreement very recently,” said Felix Charney, president and CEO of Summit. “We have been interested in both these properties for some time.”
Plans for development were not disclosed.
On Nov. 1, Tribune sold The Advocate and Greenwich Time newspapers to Hearst Corp. of New York for $62.4 million. The buildings were not part of the deal.
A spokesman for Tribune in Chicago declined to comment.
The Tresser Boulevard building housed the printing and production facilities for both newspapers. Current printing for the papers now is done in Danbury and Bridgeport.
The Tribune, staggering from a fourth-quarter loss of $78.8 million amid lower advertising sales, is under pressure to cut debt and raise cash.
The company, along with job cuts, is also planning to sell the Chicago Cubs baseball team, Wrigley Field and its 25 percent stake in Comcast Corp.’s regional sports television network, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, according to media reports.
Tribune’s debt has grown to more than $13 billion since real estate magnate Sam Zell completed a $8.2 billion buyout of the media company Dec. 20.
Tribune officials have said they were looking to sell the Stamford and Greenwich buildings individually because each allows a different development opportunity.
The three-story former Advocate building was completed in 1981 on 3.2 acres.
The 23,000-square-foot Greenwich Time building was built in stages over many years on 0.37 acre.
“The properties have considerably different market niches and would likely see reuse in different real estate cycles,” said Michael Freimuth, economic development director for Stamford. “But it isn’t surprising, and probably very smart, for developers to spread their risk over multiple buildings within diverse markets.”
The quick sale shows “the value perception of buying properties in lower Fairfield County,” said Mary Ann Morrison, president of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce.
“Whatever is going on in the economy, it’s relevant that both properties sold quickly,” Morrison said.
MediaNews Group Inc. of Denver manages The Advocate and Greenwich Time under an operating agreement with Hearst Corporation.
The Advocate moved to leased space in Riverbend Center in the Springdale section of Stamford. The Greenwich Time is scheduled to move at the end of the month to Putnam Avenue in Old Greenwich.