The Conshohocken zip code extends all the way to the western side of the Schuylkill River and into Upper Merion. Sitting on the edge of this zip code along River Road on 45 acres is the 674,000 square foot printing plant for The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Since the newspapers moved their printing operation to this site in 1992 it has most often referred to as its’ Conshohocken plant.

Today the parent company of the papers, The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, announced that it would close the Conshohocken plant and utilize a printing operation in New Jersey to print its papers. According to an article in the Inquirer, the plant will likely close by the end of the year, 500 people will lose their jobs, and by making this move the company will save almost $20 million annually.

The article also mentions that the property is going to be sold and there are currently negotiations with an unnamed company. We inquired with a commercial real estate broker who does a lot of work in the area and was told that the property was never publicly offered for sale (meaning few people knew). According to the broker, the most likely interested party would be a major warehouse developer.

If true, this could be the third major distribution hub on River Road. FedEx opened a 305,733-square-foot facility at 600 River Road in 2016 (the orange shaded area in the above image). The property at 900 River Road was approved this year for a 331,428-square-foot warehouse/distribution center (green shaded area). The papers’ printing plant is located at 800 River Road (red shaded area).

You can read the Inquirer’s article here.