NOLA Radio: Building Housing iHM Cluster Sells for $3.5M

After spending two years on the market, the three-story, 17,765-square-foot iHeartMedia Building in downtown New Orleans has been acquired by a Florida-based investment group, according to New Orleans City Business.

The building was built in the mid-1990s for office space and a radio production studio, the property has a 250-kilowatt generator, 60 parking spots with a secured gate and two adjacent lots. It sold Sept. 29 for just over $3.579 million, around $201 per square foot, according to Orleans Parish land records. The property hit the market in August 2020 for $3.7 million.

According to the Secretary of State’s website, the buyer is New Orleans Property Partners LLC, a company established in September with a Miami address. Officers in the company are listed as Wayne Chapman, Steven Becker, Bennett Glazer and Lee Hager. The company’s address, 1600 N.W. 163 St., is the home of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, one of the largest beverage distributors in the U.S. The company has a location in St. Rose.

When its building was listed for sale, iHeartMedia planned to relocate in New Orleans, according to a news release. Tori Kahl, market president of iHeart Media, did not immediately respond to a request for comment this week. The company’s automated phone message still lists 929 Howard Ave. as its New Orleans location.

The 10 local stations under its flag include News Talk 99.5 WRNO, New Orleans’ Black Information Network 1280 and 104.1 The Spot, among others. On Monday, the New Orleans Pelicans and iHeartMedia announced they have signed a multi-year deal to broadcast all of the team’s basketball games live on 99.5 WRNO beginning with the 2022-23 season.

iHeartMedia made some other cost-cutting moves during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing compensation for senior management staffers and furloughing non-essential employees. The San Antonio, Texas-based radio and audio giant was already trying to downsize prior to the onset of COVID-19, announcing a round of layoffs in January 2020 that affected mostly small and medium-sized markets.