Tribune Media is officially turning over the keys to its landmark Tribune Tower and Los Angeles Times building, both historic symbols of the newspaper business’s flusher days.
The company announced Wednesday that it has closed the sales of the properties to developers who are exploring plans to turn the buildings into mixes of office, retail and residential spaces.
CIM Group, a real estate firm with experience owning and managing historical properties, paid $205 million for the Tribune Tower, a part of Chicago’s skyline since 1925. CIM may also be liable for an additional $35 million in contingent payments if certain conditions are met. Vancouver’s Onni Group bought the Times building, which has housed the paper since 1935, for an undisclosed amount.
Tribune this week also closed the sale of the Times’ Olympic Plant in Los Angeles.
Tribune will make $430 million from the sales, part of the company’s ongoing effort to raise cash by reducing its real estate. The company could get a total of $45 million in contingent money from those three deals.
“We have made considerable progress toward achieving our goal of realizing at least $1 billion of gross proceeds from the sale of some of our most significant real estate holdings,” said president and CEO Peter Liguori. “Real estate sales closed from 2014 through today’s announcement have generated $576 million of gross cash proceeds. Importantly, we estimate the value of our remaining real estate portfolio to be at least $500 million, including properties in Chicago, Southern California, Ft. Lauderdale, and Long Island.”
