Hotel operator buys Times-Dispatch building in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond

A HOTEL operator has purchased The Times-Dispatch building in Virginia's capital city, but the Richmond newspaper will remain in the downtown building under a long-term lease, the companies announced on Thursday.

The Times-Dispatch reports that its newsroom, advertising and administrative offices will be consolidated on one floor of the four-storey building. A subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns The Times-Dispatch and 29 other daily newspapers, sold the building to an entity tied to Shamin Hotels. The hotel operator also purchased an adjoining 699-space parking deck.

Shamin, which operates 59 hotels in six states, plans to move its corporate headquarters from Chester, Virginia, to the building later this year.

The newspaper reports that court records show the 16,000 sq m building was acquired on Monday for nearly US$14.5 million.

The deal did not include a 40,000-sq m production facility in Hanover county.

The Times-Dispatch has 320 employees, including 141 in the downtown building, where The Times-Dispatch and the former Richmond News Leader have operated since 1923.

The Washington Post, The Seattle Times, The Mercury News (formerly The San Jose Mercury News) and other newspaper owners have sold their buildings in recent years. AP