OPI sells plant and land in $40M leaseback

Oahu Publications Inc. has sold its 152,574-square-foot print production facility in Kapolei and the 11.61 acres of land beneath it in a $40 million leaseback transaction.

The parent company of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser uses the facility at 4545 Kapolei Parkway in Kapolei to print about 170 publications.

Matthew Bittick, who handled the transaction for commercial real estate brokerage firm CBRE, declined to disclose the terms of the lease but said it was a local buyer.

OPI decided to sell the property “to take advantage of the significant increase in the value of the land and building,” said Dennis Francis, president and publisher of the Star-Advertiser. “Proceeds will go toward reducing debt and funding future strategic business initiatives.”

OPI became owner of the print production facility in 2010 when the Honolulu Star-Bulletin bought The Honolulu Advertiser and merged the two newspapers. Gannett Co., former owner of the Advertiser, opened the facility in 2004.

Besides the Star-Advertiser, OPI owns The Garden Island newspaper on Kauai, The Hawaii Tribune- Herald and West Hawaii Today newspapers on the Big Island, and publishes a range of publications including MidWeek and various specialty publications and luxury and hotel magazines.