A longtime San Diego real estate investor is now the owner of the former San Diego Union-Tribune office and printing facility. And it's making news with plans to transform the 360k SF campus at 350 Camino de la Reina in Mission Valley into a Class-A office project. Given its location perched at the intersection of I-8 and SR-163, The Casey Brown Co CEO Casey Brown says he was “drawn” to the building because it's also walking distance to both the Green Line Trolley and Fashion Valley mall. “I plan to make this an iconic landmark,” Casey says.

Casey purchased the facility (170k SF office building and a nearly 200k SF industrial facility used for printing the San Diego Tribune) from the paper's former publisher, Doug Manchester, for $52M. CBRE brokered the sale. Casey says he's evaluating what to do with the industrial facility, eyeing “alternative uses.” That could mean multifamily, given the site was recently approved for 200 apartment units with the San Diego City Council. This is Casey's first purchase with his new company, after leaving BBL Commercial Real Estate after an 18-year stint.