51¶ÌÊÓƵ will soon be closing one chapter of its history and starting a new one.
Aug. 13 will be the last day for employees at 926 P St., the building that has been home to the newspaper's journalists and its business offices for the past 70 years. The block itself has been home to a Lincoln newspaper for 140 years, since the Nebraska State Journal moved into a building at 900 P St. in 1881.
After a short period where employees will work either from home or in a temporary location, the newspaper will relocate to new offices in the Telegraph District.
The Journal Star has signed a lease to occupy two floors of Telegraph Lofts East, a mixed-use building that recently opened at 21st and N streets, adjacent to Antelope Creek, the Rock Island Trail and N Street Bikeway.
Journal Star President and Publisher Ava Thomas said employees will likely move into the building sometime in October.
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Thomas said the newspaper looked at several potential sites and "found the perfect fit in the Telegraph District."
"The new location will provide us with a modern facility that better reflects the massive transformation we’ve undergone over the last two decades," she said.
"We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to create a space that will allow our staff collaborative areas, flexible work spaces, a podcast and video studio and the ideal environment to execute our digital transformation strategy."
The Journal Star will join a varied roster of Telegraph District tenants that includes Nelnet, Allo Communications, Lotus House of Yoga and The Mill Coffee & Tea.
“We are very excited to have the Journal Star as a tenant in the Telegraph District,†said Mike Tavlin, chief financial officer of Speedway Properties, which partnered with Nelnet to develop the area that stretches roughly from 19th to 22nd streets and from O to L streets.
Trinitas Ventures, which built the 8N Lofts at Eighth and N streets several years ago, is buying the 926 P St. building. It plans to demolish the structure as soon as possible so it can start construction on a 321-unit apartment building.
The company, which is based in Lafayette, Indiana, told the Journal Star in May that it plans to build a two-tiered apartment building that will be six floors on one end and 13 floors on the other. Plans are for it to open in the summer of 2023.
Trinitas officials could not be reached for comment.
The Journal Star sold its production building at Ninth and Q streets to Drury Development in March 2020.
The company, which builds Drury- and Pear Tree Inn-branded hotels, has not yet announced any plans for the site.