Longtime Daily Herald print center in Schaumburg to undergo $11M expansion after sale
Schaumburg trustees have approved a project seeking an $11 million reinvestment in the longtime Daily Herald print center purchased last spring by a Chicago Tribune affiliate - where both newspapers and others will continue to be printed and shipped out.
The approved plans for the 21-acre site along the Elgin-O'Hare Tollway at 1000 Albion Ave. include the addition of 50 employees, expansion of the parking lot for 25 new semi-cab and 28 semitrailer spaces, and construction of an 83,125-square-foot building that could be leased by one or more industrial users.
"The total investment is significant," Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank said. "We're excited they chose Schaumburg to relocate in."
The 44 full-time and 61 part-time employees at the 20-year-old, 160,000-square-foot print center are expected to increase to 145 full-time employees.
Another 50 to 100 people are estimated to find jobs at the new industrial building on the southwest portion of the property that will have the address of 1050 Albion Ave.
The existing building is being recommended for renewal for a 12-year Cook County Class 6B tax incentive, while the new building is recommended for one of its own.
Twenty Lake Holdings, an affiliate of Alden Global Capital along with Tribune Publishing, bought the facility in May just after the Tribune's printing plant along the Chicago River - The Freedom Center - was itself sold to make way for a Bally's Casino and entertainment district.
Bally's is expected to demolish the Freedom Center next year and then break ground to open the casino in 2026.
Both parties to the Schaumburg sale agreed to a long-term contract for Tribune Publishing to print and distribute the Daily Herald on behalf of Paddock Publications/Daily Herald Media Group.
The Paddock Printing Center opened in December 2002 using technology that was the first of its kind in North America. At the time of its sale, it already was printing not only the Daily Herald but also 56 other titles for various daily, weekly and monthly commercial printing customers.
Even during its construction, company officials touted the print center's capacity for expansion. It replaced an 80,000-square-foot facility that had reached its capacity on a 4-acre site on Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights.