Paper in Rockland moving operations

ROCKLAND – Courier Publications, publisher of the thrice-weekly Courier-Gazette newspaper and six weekly newspapers, is moving to Main Street.

The newspaper group was bought recently by Crescent Publishing, based in Charleston, S.C.

The previous owner, American Consolidated Media, retained ownership of Courier’s building on Park Drive.

MBNA America, the credit-card lender that just opened offices on the Rockland waterfront, is negotiating with American Consolidated Media to buy the Park Drive building. The building is near the harbor, bordering two parks. MBNA’s new offices are about 500 yards from the site.

David Morse, Courier Publications publisher, said Tuesday that the business will split its operations between Main Street and a former warehouse in the city’s industrial park.

Crescent is in the midst of buying a three-floor building on Main Street, last occupied by the Island Institute, in which it will locate the company’s editorial, advertising and business functions. The Main Street building is owned by Steven and Jeannine Lee.

The warehouse Courier is buying on Gordon Drive in the industrial park is owned by Reade Brower.

The sales on both properties are expected to close by November. Courier is not disclosing the purchase prices.

Morse said the move makes sense for several reasons.

“We have outgrown this building,” he said. Though some parts of the two-story brick building are not crammed, Morse said its layout no longer matches the company’s functions.

The 10,000-square-foot warehouse in the industrial park may be expanded, but Morse said that building’s present size and the land its sits on will make operations more efficient and safe. At the Park Drive site, he said, “It’s hard for trucks to come down here.”

And inside the new plant, the company’s presses will be reconfigured so they can print two sections of a newspaper at the same time, something not possible currently.

Courier will hire a consultant to help analyze the best use of the Main Street building, Morse said. There are two tenants in the street-level storefronts.

“I suspect we will be using all the space in the building,” he said.

As the city’s waterfront evolves from industrial to service and tourist-related businesses, Morse said, it makes sense for Courier to move away from that area. The company had explored constructing a building away from downtown, he said, but “we wanted to support the city of Rockland.”