Albany Herald prepares for 'in-the-neighborhood' move – Albany Herald (original) (raw)

ALBANY — In the next few days, The Albany Herald/AlbanyHerald.com will relinquish the media agency’s long-time location at 126 N. Washington St. — on the southeastern corner of Pine Avenue and Washington — to the property’s new owner, the city of Albany.

But Herald President Scot Morrissey wants to reassure the public that the newspaper and its digital media brother will still be “in the neighborhood.”

“We took a long time in shopping the right location because we wanted to find the right fit for our current needs,” Morrissey said. “But it was also important to us that we find a location in the downtown area. The Albany Herald, and now AlbanyHerald.com, have long been part of Albany’s downtown, and as we searched for a new location, we wanted to reassure the community that we remain committed to Albany.”

The news and sales staffs of The Herald/AlbanyHerald.com will relocate to 306 W. Broad Ave., less than two blocks from its current location and still in the heart of the city’s downtown district.

The newspaper sold its property at 126 N. Washington (the former Rosenberg’s Building) as well as property at 118, 200 and 210 N. Washington St. and 132, 133 and 138 Pine Ave. to the city of Albany in June. City Manager Sharon Subadan said immediate plans are for the city to market the property as a prime development location in a downtown redevelopment effort that saw lots of forward momentum in 2019.

“We actually have an RFP (request for proposal) out on the streets already for the two adjoining buildings,” Subadan said shortly after the sale was approved by the Albany City Commission. “We’re kind of testing the market with those buildings, and we’re certainly interested in public input. We’ll do the same with the big building (at 126 N. Washington) soon.”

Mike Gebhart, who currently serves as vice president of Southern Community Newspapers Inc., the Herald and AlbanyHerald.com’s parent company, and who worked at the North Washington Street location for a decade, said the strategic move better fits the newspaper’s smaller staff and its newsgathering and advertising focus on the digital marketplace.

“I’m extremely excited that Scot and his team are moving into a facility that is a much better fit for the great staff of The Herald,” Gebhart said. “Our former building had grown stale for today’s newsgathering and advertising solutions that are becoming more digitally focused. As we move into our new facility, The Herald will continue to produce the best local news in southwest Georgia that you’ve come to expect while delivering digital and print products.”

Morrissey reassured Herald readers and advertisers that the publication and its online product would not miss a publication through the move.

“All that will change will be the location,” The Herald president said. “We expect the new property to better fit our leaner, more digitally focused business model. But we will still provide the content and services our readers and advertisers have come to expect.”

The newspaper occupied the 126 N. Washington St. location for a little more than 33 years.

Staff Photo: Carlton Fletcher