Providence Journal building sale completed

(Updated 3:41 p.m.) PROVIDENCE – The Providence Journal building at 75 Fountain St. has been purchased by Nordblom Co. and Cornish Associates from A.H. Belo for $3.3 million.
The purchase also includes two adjoining parking lots at 78 Fountain St. and 1 Eddy St. for $2.4 million and $1.4 million.
According to information filed at City Hall, the deeds were recorded Tuesday. The total purchase price of the three properties was approximately $7 million.

Janet Hasson, publisher of the Providence Journal, said they are working with the new building owner on lease options, and also are exploring other possibilities in the Providence area. Hasson said she expects an announcement to be made in the next 30 days.

The transaction was handled by the CBRE/New England team.
In a news release from Nordblom, the building was touted for its “exceptional space in a terrific city location” located across from the Convention Center and Omni Providence Hotel, overlooking Kennedy Plaza.
It states that Cornish and Burlington, Mass.-based Nordblom plan to immediately begin building improvements, and offer leases to tenants that will occupy entire floors in addition to spaces between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet.
“This is the first time, since its construction, that significant space has been available in this property and it offers an extraordinary opportunity for a wide range of prospective tenants. When renovations are complete at the close of 2015, the building will feature 160,000 square feet of renovated office space as well as over 10,000 square feet of restaurant/retail space facing the newly redesigned Emmet Square,” the release states.
Arnold B. Chace, president of Cornish Associates, said, “Bringing additional office tenants into the building and activating the street-level spaces at Emmet Square will inject renewed vitality into the neighborhood around the Convention Center.”
Back in March, Chace said that he planned to buy the building. He said at the time that he would like to see the newspaper employees remain there.
Production facilities for The Providence Journal and other Gatehouse properties are less than a mile northwest of the Fountain Street building on Kinsley Avenue.
Dallas-based Belo retained the building after it sold the newspaper business in September to Gatehouse Media, a subsidiary of New Media Investment Group Inc. The Journal’s lease for the office space expires in September.

Og Hunnewell, executive vice president/partner of Nordblom Co., called the acquisition a “wonderful opportunity to acquire and reposition several prime properties into a vibrant mixed-use project in the heart of the city.”
Hunnewell said the renovation and redevelopment of these properties will complement the work Cornish has done revitalizing properties in downtown Providence over the last decade.
Building renovations will be done by Site Specific of Providence. Spagnolo Gisness & Associates Inc. of Boston is the architect.

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The Providence Journal Building was constructed in 1934. It originally was three stories; the fourth floor was added in 1948. In 1957, the garage at Emmet Square was added to help facilitate the delivery of newspapers by truck.

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