PORTLAND — The new owner of the Portland Press Herald is asking city officials for financial assistance to help the newspaper remain in the city rather than move to South Portland.
City Manager Joe Gray and Portland's economic development director, Greg Mitchell, met on Thursday with Bob Baldacci, a consultant who is working with the newspaper's owner, MaineToday Media Inc. Mitchell then met on Monday with Rory Connor, son of Publisher Richard Connor, at the site of office space the newspaper could lease in Portland.
Richard Connor said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the company is seeking the same kind of financial incentive the city would give to any company that was considering locating in Portland.
"We would be interested to get some kind of help from the city or incentive to stay here," Connor said.
Help could be in the form of a tax break on part of the investment in the company's new offices, or a reduced rate in a city parking garage, he said.
Last month, The Seattle Times Co. sold its Maine media properties to MaineToday Media.
On Friday, MaineToday Media sold the Press Herald's office building and former printing plant to John Cacoulidis, a developer who said he plans to gut the interior of the office building and create new office space.
Connor said the approximately 200 employees who work in the building at 390 Congress St. must be moved within six months.
As many as 50 employes could be moved easily to the company's printing and distribution plant in South Portland, Connor said. The rest might stay in the city or move to South Portland.
He said the company owns land at its site on Gannett Drive in South Portland, and could build an addition. He said a developer has approached him with additional space the company could lease in South Portland.
"We'd like to stay in Portland," he said, "but we don't want to get punished financially to stay in Portland."
Mitchell said the city wants to see most of the Press Herald's operation remain in the city, for the tax dollars and jobs the company generates, and for the "marketing image" that comes with being home to a daily newspaper.
"Clearly, we value the Portland Press Herald in terms of what it contributes to Portland, Maine," he said. "My view is that we treat the newspaper as we would any business making a site decision."
State law allows Maine communities to offer businesses tax-increment financing, which is a break on future property taxes on new investment.
The City Council's guidelines say that any tax breaks require a public benefit, and that tax- increment finance districts should be considered only when there are infrastructure costs unique to a proposed site that could be offset.
Also, a company must demonstrate that it would gain economic advantages if it moved out of Portland.
"We just don't give a TIF out to drive down the cost for a company unless it can be justified," said City Councilor Cheryl Leeman, who chairs the council's Community Development Committee.
The committee would review any proposal that city staffers develop. Leeman said she was not aware of the discussions with the newspaper.
In 1994, the City Council approved its largest tax break, $10 million, for the life insurer Unum/Provident Corp. to help it construct a third office building on outer Congress Street.
More recently, the city used tax increment financing for development on 64 acres in Bayside that included the $40 million InterMed Health Care building on Marginal Way.
Connor said one of the places he is looking to lease would need substantial rehabilitation.
While the office building's owner would benefit directly if a portion of his rehab investment were sheltered from property taxes, Connor said he would expect to save on the lease.
In addition, the newspaper is looking at land...
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