The Sacramento Press is getting bigger digs.

The home of the unique daily news website will more than double in size with its expansion in the historic Railway Express Agency Building, next to the downtown train station.

Construction work began a week ago to link the existing 2,300-square-foot space to two adjoining groundfloor suites. Set in an industrial-vibe loft, the newsroom and supporting departments will fill roughly 5,500 square feet when finished. On Thursday, staff began moving desks and equipment to make way for the renovation.

The Sacramento Press is an evolving experiment with community journalism. The online paper uses a small professional editorial staff, interns and a large contingent of community contributors to cover local news, tell neighborhood stories and offer commentary on issues. The business also provides banner advertising and social media marketing for clients.

The expansion is needed to accommodate the organization's growth, said 29-year-old Ben Ilfeld, one of the site's two founders.

"It's been a constant growth curve," he said. "We've seen growth in staff. We've seen growth in readership. We've seen growth in revenue. We've seen growth in our social media presence. And there's no turning back."

The Sacramento Press officially began in 2005 in Ilfeld's Midtown apartment. In September 2007, the business and five full-time staff moved into the REA Building, 431 I St.

"There were just two of these Ikea desks. Ben and I didn't even have desks. We just roamed around, annoying everyone," said co-founder Geoff Samek. "We had to get more furniture a few weeks later, because we got an intern."

The brick building had been recently restored by its owners, architect Lynn Pomeroy and Johan Otto, president of Carson Development and owner of Otto Construction. The Sacramento Press signed a three-year lease for Suite 107, which is tucked away in the far back corner.

The on-site crew initially consisted of Ilfeld; Samek, a longtime friend who'd resigned as a senior web developer for the events company Live Nation in San Francisco; co-owners Joe Krause and Joel Rosenberg, who were in charge of building the software platform; and marketing/salesman Nicholas Walsh. The fifth owner is user experience expert Sim Mendick, who went to college with Samek and Rosenberg.

The Sacramento Press website launched in October 2008 following the recruitment of six interns.

Sonny Mayugba was brought in as business development director. Intern Colleen Belcher was hired to support all volunteer writers. Local journalist David Watts Barton, a longtime reporter at The Sacramento Bee, joined as managing editor in January 2009. Barton soon hired two experienced reporters — Kathleen Haley and myself, Suzanne Hurt — and, later, Mendick's younger brother, Jonathan Mendick, an intern now in his first journalism job.

Since then, the staff has increased to 20, community contributors have risen to about 1,000 and unique page views have grown to about 60,000 a month. A local, online ad network comprised of The Sacramento Press and more than 40 other websites was launched in December. Sales have hit expected marks, with strong growth even through the recession, Ilfeld said.

Intern Mona Romero was hired to handle social media networking for the company and clients. Mayugba's wife, Lynn Mayugba, was hired as vice president of corporate strategy. Intern Casey Kirk was hired to recruit community contributors and provide customer service. Barton became editor-in-chief and Belcher was promoted to managing editor in December 2009. The latest additions were two information technology staffers brought in to accelerate development of the software platform.

"We don't have enough room to contain our people," said Operations Manager Denise Coleman. "So we're very crowded in here — especially in sales, operations and IT."

The work space is as unique as the business model with its 19-foot ceilings, concrete columns and graffiti. Suspended from the ceiling, exposed water pipes and 16-inch ducts snake through the L-shaped newsroom. The reception area walls hold Sacramento Press bikes used in the early days by "shuckers" as a low-cost, environmentally friendly way to promote the site.

The space was designed to be flexible to accommodate growth. A 10-foot-tall functional sculpture known as the "wall of newspapers," made from four long stacks of hometown paper The Sacramento Bee, separate the reception-area couches, coffee table and stereo turntable from the newsroom. A giant curtain and recyclable modular cardboard walls work as room dividers for sales and IT.

The company's focus on sustainability and use of recycled materials also sets the newsroom apart from others. Most of the furniture came from used furniture stores, the rest from Ikea. Ilfeld and Samek work at old army-green metal desks, next to nearly matching old file cabinets and a 10-foot wall of industrial metal shelving. The staff also replaced five-gallon water bottle delivery with a water filtration system after a series of stories about environmental and health problems caused by bottled water.

Ilfeld and Samek chose the REA Building not only for the good deal they got on downtown loft space, but because it's located next to the Sacramento Valley Station. Staff and visitors are encouraged to take public transit — light rail passes are given away. Bicycles, skateboards and a scooter often roll through the newsroom.

While the staff loves the gritty location, the area has its downside, too. Thieves have struck during office hours, and sketchy characters often hang out around the train station after dark. Set near the back of a building, the company's current entrance has been a little hard to find.

The new entrance will gain much more visibility after moving to the front of the building. Walls will be knocked out to allow the office to expand into the neighboring suites. The reception area will move to the new front of the office. The newsroom will take over the majority of the rest of the space. IT, sales and operations will expand into the current suite, Coleman said.

IT has been located in the middle of the newsroom, set off from reporters by only the cardboard waffle wall.

"It's a tech industry standard (for workspace) to be a little more open and lofty," Ilfeld said. "Ironically, it's a little bad for tech. Tech needs it to be quiet."

The need to increase the size and frequency of community journalism workshops, as well as space for volunteer contributors, also led to the expansion. Groups of 15 to 45 have attended workshops on such things as photography, food writing, interview skills, online research and writing. In the past, workshops were held in the middle of the newsroom after desks and equipment were cleared away.

The renovation will create a large reception area and communal space that will hold an Internet cafe, lounge space and room for workshops and other meetings. The company expects to hire its first receptionist.

A wall and locking door will separate the newsroom from the reception area. The intern station will expand to eight computers. An interview cubicle that can accommodate four reporters will be built. The office will also get its first conference room, four small offices, a third bathroom, a shower and a secure server room.

"We have an issue here with public and private" (space), Ilfeld said. "In our new space, we'll have enough square footage to hold public events in a public space, rather than in our newsroom."

The company is also getting more parking for clients and employees, especially reporters and others who may work at night. More bike storage space will be added.

The expansion is expected to be completed by July.

The editorial staff has focused news coverage on the central city. Now the Sacramento Press plans to expand coverage into four adjacent neighborhoods. It may also expand its functional art: the owners may hire a metalworker to create a removable chair-tree sculpture as a way to "hide" all the blue plastic and steel chairs used for workshops.

It's all part of the online experiment being homegrown in downtown Sacramento.

"We're constantly innovating how we interact with the community," Ilfeld said. "That's at the heart of our mission."

The Sacramento Press executives and staff include: Ben Ilfeld, founder/chief operations officer; founder Geoff Samek; Chief Financial Officer Anil Sinha; Vice President of Corporate Strategy Lynn Mayugba; Joel Rosenberg, founder/head of IT; IT developers Artur Janc, Steve Holmes and Luke McCollum; Editor in Chief David Watts Barton; Managing Editor Colleen Belcher; reporters Jonathan Mendick, Kathleen Haley and Suzanne Hurt; Melissa Broughton, finance officer/human resources; Director of Business Development Sonny Mayugba; Advertising Coordinator Emily Cooper; Advertising Account Manager Mike Urbani; Denise Coleman, manager of operations and marketing logistics; Mona Romero, social media lead; and Casey Kirk, recruitment manager and customer service.