Former Copley Press Headquarters Sold for Nearly Half Original Asking Price

The former La Jolla headquarters of Copley Press on Ivanhoe Avenue has been sold for $6.15 million, according to the San Diego Daily Transcript.

That’s $3.7 million less than the asking price, says zillow.com. But in 2009, the 25,659-square-foot building erected in 1980 was priced at $11.5 million, said loopnet.com.

The Transcript said the buyer of 7776 Ivanhoe Ave. and a nearby parking lot was Ivanhoe Investors LLC of 7590 Fay Ave. with Paul V. Barber being a member of Ivanhoe.

The seller was listed as The Copley Press Inc., with Dean P. Dwyer as vice president of finance, treasurer and chief financial officer, the paper said.

The Copley Press was originally based in Illinois and owned several daily newspapers there, but later moved to La Jolla, where its flagship San Diego Union and Evening Tribune dailies operated, merging in 1992.

It was only the latest of a series of Copley real estate sales since Platinum Equity bought the Union-Tribune in 2009 (and later sold to Doug Manchester).

As the Transcript noted:

In April 2010, the 15,822-square-foot, former James S. Copley Library at 1134 Kline St. in La Jolla was sold for $3.75 million.

In mid-2009, the 10,236-square-foot vacant office building formerly occupied by Copley Information Systems at 7701 Herschel Ave. in La Jolla was sold for $4.75 million.

In fall 2011, the three-unit residential property at 7714-7722 Ivanhoe Ave., the six-unit residential property at 7736-7742 Ivanhoe, and the 7,048-square-foot parking lot at 7700 Ivanhoe in La Jolla 92037, were sold for $5.9 million.