Harpo Studios rents out 'Rosie Show' space
Oprah Winfrey gets a street named in her honor near her West Side production studios in May 2011. (Abel Uribe/Tribune file / July 2, 2012)
10:19 a.m. CDT, July 2, 2012
Harpo Studios is leasing out the production offices that housed Rosie O'Donnell and her staff to an unnamed local digital media company beginning Aug. 1, according to OWN executives. The 16,500-square-foot space at 122 N. Aberdeen St. has been vacant since O'Donnell's low-rated show was canceled in March, following a five-month run.
The space represents about 10 percent of the Near West Side complex. It is the first time Harpo has leased out any portion of its facilities since opening in 1990 to produce Winfrey's syndicated daily talk show, according to executives. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" ended production in May 2011, and the studios were repurposed to provide programming for OWN, Winfrey's fledgling cable network.
In April, O'Donnell sold her five-bedroom, 6,000-square-foot Lakeview home for about $2.1 million, taking a $147,000 loss and moving back to New York. In June, Winfrey sold her eight-room, 4,607-square-foot Streeterville condo for about half of the $5.6 million she paid for it in 2006.
The inverse relationship between OWN's ratings and local real estate activity may have more opportunities to play out. While California is home to Winfrey's network and her primary residence, she still owns several other properties in the Chicago area. And the other 90 percent of H! arpo Stu dios remains busy with production projects for the network, according to executives.
rchannick@tribune.com | Twitter @RobertChannick