Old Sentinel Building in New Hands

The stone-enclosed, glass-crowned former home of the Santa Cruz Sentinel has some new folks moving in. Local Internet providers Cruzio, along with green non-profit Ecology Action, partnered with developer Joe Appenrodt to win an auction for the old building, with a bid of at least $3.5 million.
The building, abandoned since the newspaper moved to Scotts Valley two years ago, had sat empty on Church Street until Fowler Properties took it off the market and moved it to auction. Plans for the structure include installing solar panels and other green features, courtesy of Ecology Action, and upping the service speed and amenities by Cruzio. Mike Brogan, Marketing Manager for Cruzio says the building needs “major work done” but he hopes to be moved in by the end of 2010. He also said that beside installing a state of the art data center, the new property will allow them to offer an exciting prospect: parking.
“We’re all really excited about the new building… And being able to park,” he says. “The data center will make us much faster. We’ll also offer data storage so a new startup can bring in their own servers if they want. The new building will be the centerpiece of us providing services to the community for the next 20 years.”