Gannett puts Arizona Republic printing facility on market

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

News giant Gannett has put its 300,000-square-foot printing facility in north Phoenix on the market.

The Arizona Republic and its publications as well as a number of other publications are printed at that site. It is one of the few large-scale printers left in the Valley along with Valley Newspapers, which is owned by Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA. 

A list price has not been disclosed on the property, but a sale-leaseback is planned for the deal, according to New York-based commercial real estate company BellCornerstone. 

Independent Newsmedia reached out to the news organization for a statement, but company officials said they do not comment on pending real estate transactions and would not comment on any future plans for the facility.

In addition to Arizona Republic publications, local newspapers printed at the Phoenix facility include the Arizona Daily Star, the Sedona Red Rock News and Flagstaff’s Arizona Daily Sun, as well as Times Media Group publications.

The New York Times and USA Today also are printed there.

Printing of Gannett’s Palm Springs newspaper, the Desert Sun, moved to Phoenix in September 2020, after more than three decades of operation locally.

Gannet’s financial struggles in recent years have been well publicized with a long line of cuts, as well as incurring a debt of more than $1 billion, leaving the future of the company unknown.

For the second quarter that ended June 30, the latest financial information available, Gannett reported a loss of $53.6 million on revenue of nearly $749 million, compared with a profit of $15.1 million on revenue of $804 million for the same time in 2021. The company reported it had $99.4 million cash on hand for the second quarter, a marked decrease from the $186 million it had at the same time in 2021.

The move to put the property on the market comes on the heels of an announcement earlier this month requiring employees to take one week of unpaid leave in December and asking volunteers for buyouts, according to a report from Poynter.

Poynter also reported Gannett has paused overall hiring and will temporarily suspend matching contributions to employee 401(k) accounts starting Oct. 24.

In August, the company laid off 400 employees and eliminated 400 open positions after a downward trend in loses, the report said.

Gannett is the country’s largest newspaper chain with more than 200 print papers.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.