The city of Tuscaloosa will explore the possibility of buying The Tuscaloosa News’ building and property from GateHouse Media.

The City Council on Tuesday night voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Walt Maddox to execute a letter of intent related to the possible purchase. The authorization includes a 45-day due diligence period during which the city would have exclusive rights to purchase the building and property, Maddox said.

“We will use that time to explore the possible options for the property as well as a funding plan,” he said.

The sale would not involve The Tuscaloosa News itself.

The mayor said it was too soon to speculate on options for the site, although he did say it would be conducive to a public-private partnership. “But to what extent, that’s something that needs to be determined,” he said. “At the end of the day it may not work, but at least this gives us the right of first refusal.”

Bobby Rice, general manager of The News, said the sale, if it goes through, would not affect the media company’s day-to-day operations. “We will maintain our websites as we always have and we will continue to publish the newspaper seven days a week,” Rice said.

The sale would include the 90,000-square-foot Tuscaloosa News building and the 7.8-acre site it sits on at the corner of Jack Warner Parkway and 28th Avenue.

The News’ decision to build on that site nearly 20 years ago helped kickstart the development of the city’s riverfront. In 2000, The New York Times Co., which owned The News at the time, approved construction of the new building and the purchase of a new press. The company invested $30 million in the project — $10 million for the building and $20 million for equipment, including the press.

The News moved into the building in November 2002. Before the move, it had occupied a building on Sixth Street in downtown Tuscaloosa for more than 40 years. That building was less than half the size of the new building.

The News had been part of the New York Times Regional Media Group for more than 25 years when The New York Times Co. sold the chain to Florida-based Halifax Media in 2012. GateHouse bought The News in 2015 as part of its acquisition of Halifax.

GateHouse, one of the largest media companies in the United States, owns more than 150 daily newspapers and more than 450 community publications in 39 states.

Staff Writer Jason Morton contributed to this report.