Mort Zuckerman gave up a valuable piece of real estate in Daily News sale

Tronc to take over Jersey City printing plant

Mort Zuckerman and the Daily News printing plant (credit: Getty and foursquare)
Mort Zuckerman and the Daily News printing plant (credit: Getty and foursquare)

When publishing giant Tronc took over the New York Daily News from real estate investor Mort Zuckerman, it also landed a potentially lucrative piece of Jersey City real estate.

Tronc is taking over the Daily News’ printing plant at 125 Theodore Conrad Drive along with a 49.9-percent stake in the 25-acre site it sits on. The site can be redeveloped and was key to the sale because its value helps make up for the paper’s $26.5 million in pension obligations, Crain’s reported.

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Zuckerman, who bought the Daily News in 1993, tried to sell the paper back in 2015 but failed to meet his $150 million to $200 million target price range. News reports at the time claimed the paper was losing between $20 million and $30 million per year.

Zuckerman sold the Daily News to Tronc, which owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun, for the symbolic price of $1 on Monday. [Crain’s] — Konrad Putzier