Change is a constant. The Moultrie Observer has resided at 25 N. Main St., one block from the Colquitt County Courthouse, for more than 100 years, but the newspaper is now planning a move.

As circumstances have changed, the two-story building no longer meets the needs of the Observer staff, so it has been put up for sale. Marketing is being conducted by Bell Cornerstone, a New York-based realty firm that operates nationally. Anyone interested can contact national account manager Daniel C. Lynch, MBA, at (315) 498-1600 for more details.

“The sale of our building, which has been our home for over 100 years, is an important step for The Moultrie Observer, but it does not mean we are going out of business,” Publisher Laurie Gay said. “We are simply moving to a new office that better meets our needs. This transition will allow us to continue serving Moultrie and the surrounding community with the same dedication to local journalism that our readers have come to expect. Our commitment to being a trusted voice for our community remains as strong as ever, and we look forward to this new chapter in our history.”

Managing Editor Kevin C. Hall agreed that operations will continue as normal as the sale process begins.

“We’ll continue covering the news, selling advertising, producing the newspaper and maintaining our website,” he said. “The newspaper’s leadership is looking for other locations more suitable for our staff, but we’re unlikely to move until the current building is under contract.”

When that time does come, the move will be coordinated to minimally affect the newspaper’s operations.

“We’ll stay in Moultrie, of course,” Hall said. “This is our home, and this is where we do our work.”

Hall, who’s worked at The Observer in various capacities since 1997, said moving will be bittersweet.

“I’ve worked in this building longer that I’ve lived anywhere — even longer than I lived in the house I grew up in,” he said. “But we’re maintaining four or five times as much space as we actually need. It really makes sense to downsize.”

The Observer building is one of several being put up for sale by Carpenter Media Group, which acquired The Observer and five other CNHI newspapers in Georgia earlier this year. Among the buildings for sale is the print facility in Valdosta where The Observer has been printed since about 2000. 

The Observer and its sister papers that are currently printed at the facility will print at the Bainbridge Post-Searchlight, another Carpenter Media Group newspaper. Details of the arrangement are still being worked out.