Following a reorganization at the parent of The Star-Ledger, the company is looking to lease space in Secaucus to house consolidated support services for some of the newspapers it owns throughout the state.
Penn Jersey Advance, part of Star-Ledger owner Advance Publications Inc., is negotiating to lease offices at One Harmon Plaza, a 10-story, 187,111-square-foot office building overlooking the Hackensack River.
The Jersey Journal, a newspaper also owned by Advance Publications, moved to One Harmon Plaza in January, relocating from its nearly 90-year-old headquarters in Jersey City. The Jersey Journal leases 10,000 square feet at its new location, and Penn Jersey Advance is in talks to take an entire floor, sources said. A lease hasn’t been signed yet, and Penn Jersey Advance could ultimately decide on a different location.
Star-Ledger Publisher Richard Vezza and Advance Publications’ real estate broker, Douglas Elliman, couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
The broker handling leasing at One Harmon Plaza, Cushman & Wakefield of New Jersey Inc. in East Rutherford, declined to comment, as did officials at Woodland Park-based Mountain Development Corp., which recently acquired One Harmon Plaza with a partner for $11.5 million.
The president of Penn Jersey Advance, Richard Diamond, oversaw The Jersey Journal’s move to Secaucus, the newspaper reported in January.
But a similarly named company to Penn Jersey Advance is being created as part of the host of changes Advance Publications announced on March 27. The family-owned newspaper company is moving to stanch the red ink at its operation, which like much of the industry has been reeling from digital competition and other changes in the media world.
The restructuring includes layoffs, as well as the creation of a new company, NJ Advance Media, which will provide advertising, marketing and news content to The Star-Ledger of Newark, the website NJ.com, and many of Advance Publication’s other newspapers.
At the time, Advance Publications also said it planned to create a second company, Penn Jersey Advance Central Services, to debut in September.
“[It] will be a shared-services company providing support services such as circulation, information systems and technology, finance and accounting support to NJ Advance Media, NJ.com, The Star-Ledger, The Times of Trenton, South Jersey Media Group, Lehigh Valley Media Group and NJN Publishing,” the newspaper company said on March 27. “The company will also provide HR support to all affiliates with the exception of The Star-Ledger. The Star-Ledger will continue to maintain its own HR function.”
NJ Advance Media’s main office will be based in Woodbridge on Woodbridge Center Drive.
Last July Advanced Publications put its Newark headquarters on the block, with Douglas Elliman handling the sale. In March, Vezza told The Star-Ledger that the newspaper planned to move its employees to a new location in Newark once its building at 1 Star-Ledger Plaza is sold.