It's official: Miami Herald announces it's moving to former U.S. Southern Command HQ

The former Southern Command HQ building at 3511 N.W. 91st Ave. in Doral
will become the Miami Herald's new home in May, 2013.

Miami Herald publisher David Landsberg sent out this email this morning to staffers:

Drum roll, please… the big announcement is finally here!

We’re on the move – and starting in May 2013, our new headquarters will be located at 3511 NW 91 Ave., on the 15-acre site that was formerly home to the U.S. Southern Command. The site is located in Doral, four miles west of the airport. It’s located within a 30-minute drive of most Miami-Dade residents, and offers easy access to Broward and the Keys.

MHMC has leased the two-story, 158,000 sq. ft. building to house the business and news offices. The company will also build a new three-story, 119,000 sq. ft. production facility on property purchased adjacent to its new home. Ample parking of about 680 spaces will be available. Groundbreaking on the new press building is expected in April, and construction will be fast-tracked to meet our relocation deadline.

The state-of-the-art printing plant, which will comprise three presses moved from our current location, will offer improved press and color capabilities, as well as a convenient location for distribution of The Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald and all our commercial printing partners. We anticipate no interruptions in service for either readers or advertisers.

The move is also in keeping with the Miami Herald Media Company mission: to be the most credible and dynamic source of information for our community. We’ve been a vital part of this community for nearly 110 years – 48 of them at our present location – and our new Miami-Dade headquarters demonstrates we’re strong, solid and here to stay.

Stop by the cafeteria today at 11 AM as we celebrate the announcement of our new home. McClatchy Vice President Pat Talamantes and I will be available to answer any questions. We’ll have coffee and donuts, as well as visual renderings of the new site and building. At 9 PM, Craig Woischwill will be in the pressroom for a second Q&A session.

Going forward, we’ll have updates on the construction and move on a regular basis. Look for these updates in the “Move 2013” corner in our lobby.

Thank you for all your patience as we worked to get us to today’s announcement.

Attached is the full Press Release [below] that will be sent to outside media at 11 am today.

Contact:
Marie Zeno-Garcia
The Miami Herald
megarcia@miamiherald.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MIAMI HERALD MEDIA COMPANY ANNOUNCES NEW MIAMI-DADE HEADQUARTERS SITE

MIAMI, Jan. 26, 2012 – The Miami Herald Media Company (MHMC), parent of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, announced today that it has finalized a contract on the future site of its Miami-Dade County headquarters.

MHMC will relocate operations to a leased, two-story office building that formerly served as the headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command and will build a new production center on property purchased adjacent to its new home. The company is scheduled to relocate in May 2013 from its current downtown Miami location.

“This move represents a new era for the Miami Herald Media Company,” said president and publisher David Landsberg. “We are excited about these modern and efficient facilities, which will provide our employees with a 21st century workplace to better serve the varied needs and demands of our customers. And we’re thrilled to make this substantial investment in our company and in the community.”

The two properties encompass approximately 15 acres and are located at 3511 NW 91st Ave. in Doral, Fla., inside the Westpointe Business Park. MHMC’s new headquarters will sit four miles west of Miami International Airport and within a 30-minute drive of most Miami-Dade County residents, offering easy access to Broward County and the Keys.

The office building contains approximately 158,000 square feet and will house all of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald’s business and news operations. The property owner, GPA-I, LP of Memphis, Tenn., is providing a long-term lease. Tere Blanca, president and CEO of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, Inc., represented MHMC in the transaction, and David Steinfeld from CB Richard Ellis represented GPA-I,LP.

Miami Herald Executive Editor Aminda Marques Gonzalez said she was looking forward to creating a newsroom built to serve the many ways in which MHMC reaches its more than 1.5 million weekly readers.

“We’ll be able to build a modern newsroom around a central hub that truly integrates our multimedia operation, including our print, website, radio, video, mobile news and tablet platforms,” Marques said. “We’ve been visiting and studying other newsrooms to incorporate the best ideas around the country into our new space.”

El Nuevo Herald Executive Editor/General Manager Manny Garcia said, “Our new location will put us even closer to the communities we serve.”

Construction of the adjacent production facility is expected to begin in April 2012. When completed, the facility will stand three stories high and encompass approximately 119,000 square feet.

Three of the company’s existing presses will be refurbished and relocated to the new facility, offering improved printing and color capabilities as well as a centrally located distribution center. MHMC not only publishes and distributes its two flagship newspapers, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, but provides printing and local distribution for dozens of other publications as well, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, New York Post and El Pais.

Pat Talamantes, McClatchy vice president and CFO who also oversees McClatchy’s Florida operations said, “We are very pleased to find a solution for both our production and office needs in one location in Miami-Dade County. This office building and production facility will allow us to optimize the work environment for a modern media company. I congratulate the management team at the Miami Herald Media Company, our real estate advisers at Blanca Commercial Real Estate, our production designers at Dario Designs and the GPA-I, LP team for developing such a strong, cost-effective project.”


About the Miami Herald Media Company

The Miami Herald Media Company (MHMC) publishes two daily newspapers: The Miami Herald, winner of 20 Pulitzer Prizes, and El Nuevo Herald, an award-

winning Spanish-language publication. Together, the newspapers are read by more than a million people each week, in print and online at MiamiHerald.com and elNuevoHerald.com.

MHMC products include the websites Miami.com and MomsMiami.com. The company

produces content across all media, including video, mobile and radio on WLRN/Herald News; as well as over 110 custom publications for hotels, airlines and other clients through its subsidiary, HCP/Aboard Publishing.

The Miami Herald is owned by The McClatchy Company.

About McClatchy

The McClatchy Company is a leading news and information provider, offering a wide array of print and digital products in each of the markets it serves. As the third largest newspaper company in the country, McClatchy’s operations include 30 daily newspapers, community newspapers, websites, mobile news and advertising, niche publications, direct marketing and direct mail services. The company’s newspapers include The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. McClatchy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.