Read More - City of Fredericksburg

City of
Fredericksburg
Virginia
Economic Development
and Tourism
AUGUST 2016
Creating a ‘warm environment’ for
Free Lance-Star employees and customers
T
he Free Lance Star’s 131-year commitment to doing business
in Fredericksburg is evidenced by their plan to move their
headquarters, yet remain within the city.
“I am pleased the Free Lance-Star will continue
to be a city business and I praise the work of the
newspaper’s leadership in finding a location that
will serve it very well,” said Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw.
The Free Lance Star will move its headquarters
from downtown on Amelia Street to the Central
Park Corporate Center in December.
“We evaluated a number of other sites and
Central Park was probably the best fit for us and
leaves us a lot of opportunity to be available to
our customers and in the city,” FLS publisher
Dale Lachniet said.
“Central Park is easily accessible for our employees, no matter which of the surrounding counties
that they live in. It will provide them easy access
to the major arteries in and out of the city,” Lachniet said.
The publisher added that the new location will
be convenient to customers who visit the newspaper.
“Most of our subscribers live in nine different
jurisdictions in the region and the one thing they
have in common is that they almost all come to
the Central Park area or the Spotsylvania Mall
for shopping, entertainment and dining,” Lachniet said. “We love the idea of being in the center
of it all. We will hopefully meet and see even
more of our subscribers and advertisers.”
News, advertising, circulation and supporting
departments will move into the former That’s
Amore restaurant space and the second floor
over the Community Bank of the Chesapeake at
1340 Central Park Blvd.
Rappaport, the building’s owner, is making
major renovations to the 18,700-square-footspace, according to Rappaport President Henry
Fonvielle.
(Continued)
Department of Economic Development and Tourism n Fredericksburg, VA
540-372-1216 n aperegoy@fredericksburgva.gov
City of
Fredericksburg
Virginia
Economic Development
and Tourism
“Heavy demolition is underway to remove all the
interior improvements from the two-level That’s
Amore restaurant. This includes the grand
staircase and rear service elevator and shaft. We
are installing windows on both levels and on
two sides of the building for added natural light,
performing major work on the rear elevation and
landscaping for a new entry feature. We are also
opening up a structural wall on the second level
between the former restaurant and the other
portion of the office building to provide approximately 4,600 square feet of additional office
space. Then we will install a new staircase, new
bathrooms, breakrooms, closed and open office
space,” said Fonvielle, describing the magnitude
of the project.
The iconic statue of a paperboy that stands at
the entrance to The Free Lance-Star downtown
will also move to Central Park, along with its
employees.
“‘Lance’ will still be standing out in front of our
new headquarters with his newspaper in hand!”
Lachniet said. “We think it will provide a warm
environment for our employees and for our
subscribers and customers when they come visit
us.”
The FLS move to the corporate center has been
hailed as a turning point in the center’s further
development.
“I know the team at Rappaport worked very hard
to make a good case for the Corporate Center
and I believe this marks an exciting turn of
events for the Corporate Center and for Central
Park businesses.”
“We expect that this relocation by the Free
Lance-Star will highlight the opportunity and attract more businesses to Central Park Corporate
Center. It's THE place for professionals: convenient access to 95, hundreds of nearby retailers
and amenities, abundant parking and renovated,
professionally managed facilities,” said Rappaport’s Fonvielle.
AUGUST 2016
The newspaper’s 90,000-square-foot building
downtown was sold to local developer William J.
Vakos Jr. in November, along with its parking lot
across William Street. FLS is leasing the building from Vakos through the end of 2016.
The Fredericksburg Economic Development
Authority approved a $25,000 grant to help cover
the newspaper’s moving expenses on the condition that the company remain in the city.
The newspaper’s printing operations will remain
at the Print Innovators production facility in the
city’s Battlefield Industrial Park.
Alpha Media, which purchased the Free Lance
Star’s radio group last year, is also looking for
a new location when its lease at 616 Amelia St.
runs out next April.
Several local commercial real estate professionals participated in negotiations for this lease.
Jamie Scully and Sharon Schmidt, Cushman &
Wakefield | Thalhimer, and Susan Bourgeois,
Rappaport, represented the landlord. Ben Keddie and Heather Hagerman, Caldwell Banker
Commercial Elite, negotiated the lease on behalf
of The Free Lance-Star.
Department of Economic Development and Tourism n Fredericksburg, VA
540-372-1216 n aperegoy@fredericksburgva.gov