SAN DIEGO—As GlobeSt.com recently reported, the Casey Brown Co. has acquired the San Diego Union-Tribune property at 350 Camino de la Reina in Mission Valley,for $52 million from Doug Manchester, former publisher of the newspaper. The property consists of a 170,000-square-foot, five-story office building and a 190,000-square-foot, three-story industrial building that was the former newspaper print facility. We spoke exclusively with founder, president and CEO Casey Brown about the acquisition, his plans for the property and other markets he is considering for purchase and/or redevelopment.
GlobeSt.com: What are our plans for the Union-Tribune property?
Brown: The buildings themselves have great bones and are a beautiful structure. I think we will rename the overall project, and I don't have an answer as to what we will name or brand it. We will likely apply it to the newspaper business that was here for so long to create an amenity-rich environment that takes advantage of the large piece of property and acreage with outdoor areas and collaborative space.
GlobeSt.com: Where do you see opportunities for commercial development in the San Diego market?
Brown: I'm a big believer in Downtown, and I am a believer, obviously, in Mission Valley. Both of those areas have one thing in common and that's public transportation, specifically the trolley. Public transportation becomes more and more important as it relates to where we work and how we get there.
GlobeSt.com: What markets are you eyeing outside of San Diego?
Brown: Most of our focus is on San Diego. However, we have looked at projects in Phoenix—we still believe in Phoenix—and Orange County. A wild card in San Diego would be some of our East County markets such as El Cajon and Santee, which will start being a logical place for office-building development, followed again by solid public transportation.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
