In another sign of the decline of the newspaper industry, the former newsroom and printing plant of the Orange County Register will be turned into an Amazon distribution center.
The online retail giant acquired the old headquarters in Santa Ana for $63.2 million, city officials confirmed Thursday.
Amazon has plans to raze the 120,000-square-foot office building, which was home to the newspaper’s offices and printing plant until three years ago, so the company can build a new 112,485-square-foot delivery station building with a surface-level parking lot, said Paul Eakins, a spokesman for the city.
The plans have been approved by city officials in a process that did not require City Council approval, Eakins said.
Amazon is now in the process of submitting more plans to be checked and obtaining permits before construction can begin. The plans for demolition, landscaping and other work such as grading at the site have not yet been submitted.
The building and parking will be constructed on 16 acres and the company plans to have about 135 drivers and other employees mostly working full- time on the site. A job fair is in the works to focus on hiring residents from Santa Ana, Eakins said.
Local developer Michael Harrah acquired the property in 2016, including the five-story office building, for about $61 million, according to the Register. It was home to the newspaper since 1957, before the publisher moved to Anaheim three years ago.
— City News Service