Zondervan’s Common Prayer app is a mobile daily devotional. Photo via fb.com
HarperCollins Christian Publishing is relocating its Zondervan offices in Cascade Township.
The company will move from less than five miles from its current location, at 5300 Patterson SE, Cascade Township, to 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids.
HarperCollins signed a “multi-year lease” as the sole occupant of the building and will begin retrofitting plans for its “new home” immediately, with construction expected to start in the fall, according to a HarperCollins announcement.
“Commitment” to Grand Rapids
The move signals that HarperCollins will not be moving Zondervan to Nashville, despite recent rumors, according to Publishers Weekly.
HarperCollins said Zondervan’s current lease at Patterson Drive will expire January 31.
HarperCollins reportedly notified Zondervan employees in July that it would not be renewing its Patterson Drive lease, where it has been based for decades.
The owner of the new property, Belfry Development Corp., confirmed the address of Zondervan’s space on Sparks Drive.
“Our commitment to have a presence in Grand Rapids remains strong, and this new location will bring new opportunities for the future,” said Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
HarperCollins declined to provide any other details about the move.
HarperCollins Christian Publishing
Zondervan, a Christian publishing company, was founded 75 years ago in Grandville and has been a part of HarperCollins since 1988.
HarperCollins, based in New York and one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation, led by Rupert Murdoch.
In FY13, HarperCollins completed the acquisition of Thomas Nelson, forming a new Christian publishing division, HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
The “combined resources of Zondervan and Thomas Nelson” publishing company have “already proven successful” for the Christian publishing division, which has had 13 titles on the New York Times bestseller list in 2013, according to HarperCollins’s website.
