It’s always the talk of the town when a storied establishment evolves and that’s true of Lee Newspapers. For nearly six decades, the business has called their building on Route 5 in Palatine Bridge, NY, home, but in the very near future, headquarters will be relocated just down the road.
Janet Lee Stanley, president and general manager of Lee Newspapers Inc. and Lee Trade Shows, is happy to announce the business’s offices will be moving to downtown Canajoharie in the coming months. “Everything that we wanted to do to move our offices is going more smoothly than expected,” she reported. “We hope to be in our new home in two months.”
Lee Newspapers, publishers of Country Folks, Country Folks Grower, Country Culture, RockRoadRecycle and Wine & Craft Beverage News, will soon see its offices relocated to historic Wagner Square in Canajoharie, NY. The offices of Lee Newspapers will be using the second floor of the historic block of buildings it has owned since 2016 when founder Fred Lee purchased it with the purpose of fulfilling a life-long dream of owning a Christmas store.
The main floor of the building is currently home to Lee’s Shops at Wagner Square, an 8,500-square-foot retail gift shop featuring Christmas as well as year-round home décor and gifts.
For the convenience of walk-in traffic, Lee Newspapers will have a main floor office that’s easily accessible from the street. There is also a parking lot directly across the square for customers’ use (with a hitching post for Plain Sect customers).
The new Lee Newspapers offices will be located on the right side of the Wagner Square building.
Wagner Square was named after Webster Wagner, a prominent railroad man of the 19th century known for manufacturing one of the first sleeping cars made in America. It is the heart of the Canajoharie Historic District and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The current Lee Newspapers Building in Palatine Bridge was purchased by Fred Lee in 1965 – at that time it was just “a big cinder block cube,” Stanley said. Over the years, five additions were made to the building and the Lee family even lived on third floor briefly.
The “cinder block cube” where Lee Newspapers started.
“It was home to us for a few years as a family,” Stanley, Lee’s daughter, said. “It’s a little bittersweet that we’ve made this decision to move, but it was the wise and economical decision to make.”
She noted that it will be much more convenient to have all the publishing company’s offices on one floor, where employees will be steps away from each other instead of entire floors. “It will be a huge change in accessibility to each other. And it will be good for the team environment,” she said. “Once we made the decision to outsource our printing, the space we once needed to house two large printing presses was no longer necessary.”
Managing Editor Andy Haman added, “There will be better communication and a more unified feel for our space and our team – and the proximity to other local businesses will be great for the business as well as the employees.”
The large addition that once housed the printing press is no longer needed, thanks to upgraded technology and outsourcing.
There are other positives for the business as well. An important one is the significant reduction in overhead. Over the past 60 years, the technology employed in creating newspapers has changed dramatically and so the company no longer requires the space it once did. A smaller footprint is beneficial for both the business and the environment.
The move is also helpful for anyone traveling to Lee Newspapers’ headquarters, as it is now much closer to the New York State Thruway exit in Canajoharie.
“I had a goal of accomplishing two things for the business with my father’s blessing before he passed in November – the first was for him to be on board with outsourcing our printing, which was much more economically sound for us,” Stanley said. “The second was that I wanted him on board with us moving the business to Wagner Square, and he was.”
The same great services offered by Lee Newspapers will be soon be offered right down the road.
The move means the old building in Palatine Bridge will soon be going up for sale – and Lee Newspapers cannot wait to welcome its community to its new home. Stanley is planning a few open houses and a Chamber of Commerce after-hours event to celebrate the relocation.
If there are any questions about the move, reach out to Janet Stanley at 518.673.3237 or 800.836.2888.
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