Pioneer Press sells building, plans move out of downtown St. Paul

The St. Paul Pioneer Press sold its downtown headquarters to an apartment developer and will move newspaper operations to River Park Plaza across the Mississippi River, according to the buyer.

Stencil Group of Sioux Falls, S.D., purchased the 162,000-square-foot property last week for an undisclosed sum. But the company's chief executive, Nate Stencil, said the final sale wasn't far off the asking price of $4.2 million.

Stencil will begin renovations on the 1950s-era building this fall, turning the property into between 150 and 168 market-rate apartments.

"Our goal is to not compete with the most glamorous projects, but to really find a nice niche with something that is well built, with nice interior design, yet not getting too carried away with prices in order to protect ourselves from future changes in the market," Stencil said.

This is the first Twin Cities project for the South Dakota developer. The firm was drawn to the Pioneer Press property because of its proximity to the year-old Green Line light-rail, the bus line and access to the skyway. Additionally, the building lacks the amount of interior walls typically found in an older building. This, coupled with its rectangular shape, simplifies the transition to residential.

"Because it doesn't have a lot of interior walls, we won't have to do as much demolition as some existing buildings," Stencil said.

The developer can begin work immediately on five of the building's eight floors, but said it will likely wait until the fall.

Stencil said he expects the Pioneer Press will officially move across the river by January, at which time the developer will step up construction. The company hopes to have apartments move-in ready by late summer or early fall 2016.

"Our big amenities mainly focus on the location with very nice units and very nice common areas. We are looking to do … some sort of coffee shop and beer and wine concept for tenants that will also be open to outside customers," Stencil said. "It won't be a super high-end product but very nice market-rate apartments."

A spokeswoman for the Pioneer Press declined to comment but referred to an article the newspaper published last week announcing the sale.

Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767