Tampa Tribune downtown headquarters is sold

TAMPA — Tampa Media Group, the owner of the Tampa Tribune, has sold its 4.2-acre headquarters property on the bank of the Hillsborough River.

Records show RD 202 Parker LLC purchased the property for $17.75 million. RD 202 Parker has the same business address as the Related Group, one of Miami's leading developers.

The sale clears the way for a mid-rise residential project proposed by the Related Group. The plan includes 400 multifamily units and 10,000 square feet of restaurant space, according to a rezoning application filed with the city of Tampa on Monday.

Last month, Jorge Perez, founder and CEO of the Related Group, said the units would be apartments.

"We are excited about this new waterfront property in Tampa," Related Group Vice President Arturo Pena said in an email Friday. "It has an excellent walkability score, a few hundred yards from Publix, across the river from Downtown and the Arena. Tampa's employment growth and leadership was one of the main reasons we acquired this iconic site."

The newspaper would remain on the property, located at 202 S Parker St., until spring 2016, when demolition is expected to begin, the Tribune reported Friday. It's unclear where the paper would go after that; the Tribune reported that relocation experts had been hired to examine future locations for its newsroom and printing operations.

"The sale of our property creates liquidity with cash flow, and will assist us in reinvestment into our circulation and marketing while also paying down debt," publisher Brian Burns told the Tribune. Burns did not return calls or an email from the Tampa Bay Times on Friday.

The Related Group, which built Pierhouse, a 356-unit apartment building in the Channel District, also asked the city for a variance to remove a 34-foot grand oak tree on the property because it "falls within the footprint of the proposed parking garage," the rezoning application said.

Tampa Media Group is owned by Revolution Capital Group, a Los Angeles investment company, which did not return calls for comment Friday.

Revolution Capital purchased the Tribune in October 2012 from its longtime parent company Media General for $9.5 million.

Several other Florida-based newspapers have also sold their headquarters buildings or have them up for sale, including the Tampa Bay Times, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Bradenton Herald and Miami Herald.

Times staff writer Graham Brink and researcher John Martin contributed to this story. Contact Josh Solomon at (813) 226-3446 or jsolomon@tampabay.com. Follow @josh_solomon15.