BEAUMONT, Texas — Southeast Texas' oldest daily newspaper has announced it will be selling the downtown Beaumont building at the location it has occupied since 1929.
The Beaumont Enterprise announced Thursday in an article on the paper's website that it will sell its building and look for a smaller space "better suited to the digital age of newsgathering and production."
The newspaper's building, located at 380 Main St., has four floors, including one that is a mezzanine, as well as an attached parking garage.
The property is currently valued at $1.36 million for property tax purposes according to the Jefferson County Appraisal District.
A smaller space would "create a more collaborative and innovative environment for employees" publisher Mark Adkins said in the article.
“We have over 78,000 square feet of space built for another era. We probably only need about 8,000 feet that is more attuned for our digital franchise and services," Adkins said in the article.
The article did not mention a potential date when the newspaper would move its operations.
Adkins said in the article that the newspaper plans to stay in the downtown area and that production of the paper in both print and digital form will not be interupted.
The newspaper once employed 256 full-time and 74 part-time employees but now employs about 68 according to the article.
The newspaper's real estate broker Sheri Arnold, of Coldwell Banker Commercial said in the article that the newspaper’s parent company, Hearst Newspapers, is seeking potential buyers.