The Sterling Heights Operation Facility,  its Metro Parkway entrance shown here,  is set to close in August.

The Sterling Heights Operation Facility, its Metro Parkway entrance shown here, is set to close in August.

Photo by Nick Powers


Presses to stop at printing plant in August

By: Nick Powers | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published January 31, 2025

 This photo shows the Sterling Heights Operation Facility when it was first being constructed in 1971. The plant is set to close in August.

This photo shows the Sterling Heights Operation Facility when it was first being constructed in 1971. The plant is set to close in August.

Photo provided by Suburban Library Cooperative and the Sterling Heights Library

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STERLING HEIGHTS — The printing plant on the corner Mound Road and Metro Parkway, which has been cranking out papers since the early 1970s, is set to shutter in August.

A Jan. 21 Detroit Free Press announcement states that the Sterling Heights Operation Facility runs 250 press jobs on a weekly basis, ranging from regional dailies to national publications like the New York Times. The approximately 700,000-square-foot building sits on about 40 acres of land. Shuttering the plant eliminates 115 jobs. On Aug. 3, the last papers will roll off the presses.

A photo in the Sterling Heights Public Library’s digital collection shows construction being done on the plant in 1971. The Evening News Association, which owned the Detroit News at the time, constructed the facility for $42 million. The description mentions that the facility, then called the Detroit News North Plant, was up and running by 1976.

Both The Free Press and The Detroit News are printed at the Sterling Heights facility. Gannett has controlled the business side of The Free Press and The Detroit News through a Joint Operating Agreement since 1987. The JOA is set to expire this December. The two papers have separate ownership: MediaNews Group owns The Detroit News and Gannett owns The Free Press. Other Michigan newspapers owned by MediaNews Group, including the Macomb Daily, are also printed at the plant.

Gannett sold the property to Ohio-based Industrial Commercial Properties in March 2023, according to an ICP press release. The amount of the sale was not disclosed. Gannett leased the property from ICP to continue printing operations until early this year, when that agreement fell apart.

“Where our newspaper is printed does not impact our ability to deliver outstanding journalism,” reads a statement from Gannett. “The Detroit Free Press will continue to provide readers with quality, local content that matters most to them, and to connect our valued advertising partners with the customers they want to reach. We deeply appreciate the years of service our valued colleagues have dedicated to our Detroit facility and the local community.”

At the time of the 2023 sale, ICP CEO Christopher Semarjian said the facility would continue producing papers, though the release stated a 4-acre spot may be repurposed.

“We are very bullish on Detroit and the suburban markets,” Semarjian is quoted as saying in the release. “We own millions of square feet in the region and think it’s a great place to own long term.”

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