Drew Wilson
A Miami-based investment group agreed to purchase the Orlando Sentinel’s 19-acre complex from its owners Tuesday for $35.1 million.
Midtown Opportunities VIB LLC has leased the two-block complex back to the paper with a pair of long-term, nine-year leases, the Sentinel’s Paul Brinkmann reports.
The property, bordered by North Orange Avenue, North Magnolia, Colonial Drive and East Amelia Street, has been the subject of redevelopment speculation in recent years, with the city’s Chief Planner Dean Grandin saying last year that the block “is basically the missing linchpin between north downtown and the central part of downtown.”
Plans to turn the property into a mixed-use development with retail, apartments and office space were filed with the city last year, though the roadmap was deemed a long-term plan.
In a statement after the purchase, the Sentinel said it has no plans to move out of the property and that the purchase won’t bring about any immediate changes to parking or printing operations.
The purchasing group’s principal, Alex Vadia, said the group was “happy to continue to expand in Orlando” and said there were no immediate plans for the property.
Vadia’s group also purchased a 3.57-acre parcel near the Orange County Courthouse last year for $10 million.
