It appears that the money-losing
sale of the Tribune for $530 million included five blocks of land on the edge of downtown Minneapolis! This fact was
buried in a recent story about the Vikings plans for a new stadium. Powerline
cited some musings on the issue found
here.
The land in question is directly in the path of downtown's growth, as skyscrapers have been replacing parking lots in an eastward march. It is near the brand new light rail line running to the airport, and near the booming riverfront district where pricey condos have sprouted in former flour mills. The Guthrie Theatre arts complex has just relocated to the riverfront. This development has occurred in the last 8 years, so the
Strib's land must have skyrocketed in value, masking an even more serious decline in the value of the paper as an operating business than was previously understood.
It should also be noted that in addition to real estate, many urban newspapers have a reservoir of unrealized value in a repository of historical artifacts. I was tangentially involved in the estate of the owner of Chicago's historic black daily,
The Chicago Defender. One issue in that battle became the potential worth of the paper's library of rare photographs and signed letters from famous politicians, artists and entertainers who had corresponded with the paper over the years, should such artifacts be actively managed to generate revenue. The
New York Times undoubtedly has an interesting archive of similar materials. The value of the
Strib's collection is unknown, but it has been the largest newspaper in Minnesota for most of the past century.
It makes me wonder anew what a dead tree media outlet is worth as ongoing business today.
