Washington Post sells shuttered College Park printing plant

UPDATED at 6:38 p.m.

The Washington Post Co. has sold its College Park printing plant -- which it opened in 1999 -- for $12 million to the nearby University of Maryland, the university and newspaper said this afternoon.

The Post shut down the plant last year to save costs and because a second printing plant -- it has another in Northern Virginia -- was no longer required, given that The Post's daily circulation has slid from a high of more than 800,000 in the early '90s to 600,000 today.

Tax records show the property was most recently assessed at $28 million. The 300,000-square-foot plant sits on 18.5 acres.

The plant includes four printing presses but they do not convey in the sale. It is the responsibility of The Post to remove the presses. The four College Park presses were part of an eight-press, $230 million purchase.

"The presses are being taken out by a third party," Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth said. The Post was unable to find a buyer who wanted the presses as-is.

The sale is pending approval from the Maryland Board of Public Works.

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