WQIO Ohio's Super Station
Licking County commissioners are considering purchasing the former Newark Advocate building in downtown Newark for 2.3 million dollars.
The proposed purchase covers the approximately 72-thousand-square-foot building at 22 North First Street, along with adjacent parking lots. The property includes former newspaper offices, a pressroom and a large warehouse on just under two acres.
Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the purchase Thursday.
Commissioner Tim Bubb said the county doesn’t have an immediate use planned for the building but believes the property could provide valuable office and storage space as Licking County continues to grow.
Bubb said the county would not be able to acquire that amount of downtown land and comparable space for the purchase price, estimating that constructing a similar facility today could cost around 30 million dollars.
The property was most recently purchased in March for approximately 1.4 million dollars by a private investor.
If commissioners approve the purchase, the county will conduct inspections before potentially closing on the property before the end of the year.
The former newspaper building dates to 1992 and was previously owned and operated by the Newark Advocate before the newspaper’s operations changed and the property was eventually sold.
