The Olympian to leave its Franklin Street location
.jpg "The Olympian’s current building at 522 Franklin Street SE.")
As part of proceedings in filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its debt, McClatchy, The Olympian’s parent company, and its debtors on Wednesday filed a motion to terminate the company’s lease at 522 Franklin St. SE in downtown Olympia.
The news organization has been in the downtown Olympia building for two years.
Rebecca Poynter, publisher of The Olympian and The News Tribune in Tacoma, said The Olympian will relocate to another site in Olympia in the near future and will continue to operate, business as usual.
McClatchy’s bankruptcy filing does not impact day-to-day newsgathering or advertising operations at The Olympian.
“As a part of its preparation for the (Chapter 11 bankruptcy) filing, McClatchy conducted a comprehensive review of its leases to determine which ongoing leases it will carry forward and which it will terminate in order to operate efficiently and position its business for success in the future,” Jeanne Segal, McClatchy’s director of communications, said last month.
The Olympian occupied a large office building at 111 Bethel St. NE for decades, but sold that building to the Olympia School District in 2017.
The local news organization moved to the Franklin Street location in February 2018. About 20 people regularly work at the 6,824-square-foot space leased from Urban Olympia 6 LLC.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 1:49 PM.