Jan. 21--The Press-Enterprise Co. broke ground Friday on a new five-story headquarters in downtown Riverside.
Dubbed the Howard H "Tim" Hays, Media Center in recognition of the newspaper's former owner, publisher and editor, the nearly 150,000-square-foot building will be constructed alongside The Press-Enterprise's existing offices on 14th Street, a block west of Highway 91. The $38 million building is the cornerstone of an estimated $100 million to $110 million five-year expansion project that includes new presses and a new press facility. The company plans to move into the new building in early 2007.
The building will be equipped with the latest wireless and wired technologies, creating a working environment that will stimulate the creativity and imagination of the newspaper's employees, said Robert W. Decherd, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Belo Corp., The Press-Enterprise's parent company.
"For a very long time, The Press-Enterprise has been about performance, outstanding performance, journalistically and financially," Decherd told the more than 120 city officials, local dignitaries and employees gathered for the ceremonial ground-breaking.
Decherd applauded Hays and his family for transforming a small afternoon daily and its morning counterpart into the area's leading newspaper and "a champion of causes large and small."
Ronald R. Redfern, chief executive officer and publisher of The Press-Enterprise, said the building signals a new era of growth at the company, mirroring the momentum of burgeoning Inland Southern California. City officials said the building project follows others that have converted downtown Riverside into a judicial, governmental and business center. Mayor Ron Loveridge said it will be the first large office building constructed in downtown Riverside since 1990.
(Press-Enterprise, The (Riverside, CA) (KRT) -- 01/23/06)
