After being hidden in the Student Services Building for nearly half a century, The State News has found a more prominent home on Grand River Avenue.

The paper was expected to move into the former Gap building, 435 E. Grand River Ave., on Aug. 16. The State News' search for a new home had been ongoing for about 20 years, State News Editor in Chief Amy Bartner said.

"People are very excited to move out of this cramped building," she said, referring to the newspaper's former location on the third floor of Student Services. "It's something that everyone's been thinking about."

The State News has been in Student Services for 48 years since the building opened in 1957, State News General Manager Marty Sturgeon said.

Other possible locations included the Paolucci Building, sites along E. Grand River Avenue toward Okemos and the Morrill Hall parking lot, but Sturgeon said the Gap building's location was ideal for the paper.

"People almost consider that strip of Grand River as part of campus," Sturgeon said a few weeks before the scheduled move-in. "A lot of students don't know where we are.

"It's like the paper magically appears each morning."

State News Production Manager Dwight Biermann said the evolution of the newspaper during its time in the cramped Student Services space called for creativity and resourcefulness. His former office was the same place where he learned how to develop film as a State News photographer, he said.

"We're in a good position to be happy with the (new) building for a long time," he said.

In buying a new building, The State News was able to arrange the building to fit its technological needs, Biermann said.

"We're very fortunate and a little lucky to be able to make this move," he said. "We tried to make every piece that we control the best we could afford."

The extra space in the 9,413 square-foot building, which is nearly twice the size of the former State News home, will also provide State News employees a more comfortable and efficient workspace, Bartner said.

"We've got people who have been displaced who now have a place to work, which will only increase the quality of the work," she said.

The new area and equipment will help current and future State News staff learn more about their jobs, Sturgeon said.

"If the students are wanting an incredible work experience, I think that's what they're going to find at The State News," she said.

As "Michigan State University's Independent Voice," The State News wanted to create its own identity by moving off campus, too, Bartner said.

"We shouldn't be getting free room and board from the university," she said, adding that thousands of people who walk along Grand River Avenue will see the State News' operations.

Environmental geosciences graduate student Nate Saladin, who said he reads the paper every time it publishes, said the new location allows insight into what happens behind the scenes.

"It will definitely make it more visible to the public," he said.

Students' knowledge of the paper's home might also bring extra attention to it, benefitting The State News and its readers, Sturgeon said.

"I think we're going to see an interest in The State News," she said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see more protests.

"Then you know people are actually interested in reading your paper."