Reports: WGN studio sold to developer, but station isn’t leaving

SHARE Reports: WGN studio sold to developer, but station isn’t leaving
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WGN TV in Chicago is one of 42 television stations owned by Tribune Media. | Google Streetview

WGN has sold its North Side studio, but the television station isn’t going anywhere.

Chicago-based developer R2 has paid $22.25 million for the property, according to published reports.

Tribune Media signed a sale-leaseback deal that includes a 10-year lease for the television operation, with two five-year extension options, Crain’s Chicago Business is reporting. Tribune Media has taken steps to cash in some of its property holdings; last year, it sold the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue.

News of the deal first appeared in Robert Feder’s media blog.

Should the TV station move out, future uses for the site include offices, homes or retail, R2 Managing Principal Matt Garrison said. The property, just north of Lane Tech High School, is near the western edge of the North Center, Lakeview and Roscoe Village neighborhoods.

“It’s almost 10 acres of land on the North Side, where you don’t see too many sites of that size become available,” Garrison told Crain’s. “A lot of good things could happen with a 10-acre site in the long term.”

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