Is John Henry the white knight the embattled newspaper industry so desperately needs, or a sharp-eyed businessman eager to exploit the Globe’s lucrative patch of Boston real estate and the many “synergies” created by joint ownership of New England’s favorite sports team and its leading media outlet?

The coming months will provide crucial clues on just what kind of newspaper owner Henry will be as he takes the reins of The Boston Globe, but my bet is the billionaire Red Sox owner will prove to be a bit of both – and frankly, that’s just what the newspaper industry needs right now.

After all, he’s already shown, through his remarkable turnaround of the once hapless Red Sox franchise, that he knows how to restore a local cultural jewel. And he did it by creatively capitalizing on all the Sox’s assets – not just the team’s powerful brand, but its real estate as well.

Henry could probably pay for half or maybe even all of his $70 million acquisition of the Globe – and then some by selling the paper’s headquarters, just off the Southeast Expressway in Dorchester.

Who knows, maybe the hot Boston real estate market could wind up saving the Globe.

“It’s a great building,” said J.P. Plunkett, executive vice president and partner at NAI Hunneman. “That’s not driving the acquisition of the Globe, but it has to be right up there,” he said, adding the newspaper complex hovers adjacent to the Expressway, providing unbelievable visibility.

Getting To The Real Assets

Henry will be taking on the challenge of a lifetime trying to turn around the financial fortunes of the Globe. But having conquered multiple mountains, it sounds like the allure of what could be a career-topping accomplishment is at least partly what’s driving Henry, and that’s a good thing.

(In the interest of disclosure, I reported on Henry’s bid for the Sox and his efforts to transform the franchise as a reporter at the Boston Herald. I now report regularly for the Globe West and write a blog on real estate for Boston.com, which Henry is in the process of also buying.)

The longtime hedge fund king certainly doesn’t need any more money, and buying a newspaper is definitely not the way to enlarge your portfolio. But to make this deal work and ensure Globe can survive and thrive, Henry is going to have to find a way to make a profit.

And capitalizing on the paper’s real estate is a no-brainer, with the Globe’s 700,000-square-foot-plus newspaper plant and headquarters worth anywhere from $35 million to more than $70 million, based on various estimates.

The newspaper complex as is, with no permits or future development plans, could fetch at least $35 million. If permits and plans were lined up for a major development, the price could go up significantly, Plunkett said. Retail, housing, even college dorms might work at the site.

Eamon O’Marah, a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, took a look at the Globe complex for one of the bidders. He also sees great potential – noting the Globe site covers 16.5 acres – but offers a more conservative estimate of $25 million to $30 million.

“I think there is some real potential – there are some exciting things happening in that part of the city,” he said.

Housing’s hot again and the University of Massachusetts Boston, just across the street, has been on a buying binge, already gobbling up the Bayside Exposition Center.

“There is a lot of action down that way,” Plunkett said.

One obvious play is to move the paper’s money-making printing presses – which are taking on a range of clients, including the Herald – to a lower-cost suburban locale.

That would free up the paper’s prime piece of real estate for sale, while freeing up the editors and reporters to move to leased space closer to the action in downtown Boston.

“It would lower the Globe’s basis and allow it to get its footing back,” O’Marah said.

Been There, Done That

In reviving the fortunes of what had been a beloved but somewhat hapless Sox franchise, Henry has already proven he has what it takes to be a turnaround artist on a grand scale. Certainly, few would have guessed it when Henry and his investment group inked a deal in early 2002 to buy the Red Sox.

Back then, he was an unknown rich guy from out of town facing a slew of press reports that he didn’t even have the highest bid, having edged out a group of local businessmen. And, as with his Globe bid now, he faced lots of carping from the various losing bidders.

Worst of all for a new Sox owner facing uncertainly about the team’s ballpark plans, a pair of losing Sox bidders – concessions king Joe O’Donnell and developer Steve Karp – just happened to be close to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Instead of fumbling around with new stadium plans, Henry and his partners instead decided to keep old Fenway Park and restore it to its former glory. The decision to roll the dice on a renovated Fenway – an option dismissed by the previous Sox ownership regime – proved to be a brilliant move.

The restorations proved to be a home run among Sox faithful who had always loved the park, while whetting the appetite for the limited seating opportunities in baseball’s smallest ballpark. Best of all, it sidestepped the potential trap of trying to win permission from Menino for a monstrous new stadium plan, one that surely would have created a firestorm of neighborhood opposition, even if it had won support from the mayor.

Instead, Henry and his fellow investors, including wingman Tom Werner, the West Coast TV mogul, poured their energies into expanding and marketing the Red Sox brand, as well as transforming Fenway Park from a decaying relic into one of the league’s most profitable ballparks.

And the rest, two World Series championships later, is history.

With Globe, An Even Bigger Challenge

Of course, turning around the Red Sox is one thing, but creating a viable new financial model under which the Globe, and by extension the newspaper industry, can survive and thrive will be much more difficult.

The challenges are vastly different. Henry has transformed a franchise he bought for a none-too-shabby $700 million into a brand probably worth twice that amount.

He spent a mere tenth of that number to buy the Globe – $70 million – a minute fraction of the $1.1 billion The New York Times Co. shelled out in just a few years before the Internet ripped the newspaper industry’s finances to shreds.

And of the bidders that had competed to buy the Globe, Henry certainly is the best man for the job. Yes, he doesn’t have newsprint in his blood like the Taylors, who sold the Globe to The New York Times, but he has the kind of money to make a big bet like this, and they don’t.

Nor does he apparently think he’s solved the riddle of how to save the newspaper industry, compared to Papa Doug Manchester, who is squeezing the life out of the old San Diego Union-Tribune, having even downsized the name to U-T San Diego.

But most importantly, Henry appears to be approaching the challenge with an open mind, having spent time with newspaper publishers discussing the business and potential ways forward.

Being open is a big deal right now, for there is no single answer to what will make newspapers viable again. But the good news is that there is a Wild West of experimentation going on, from a back-to-print revival at the Orange County Register, to an explosion of niche online news sites.

But to keep the Globe viable and to move it forward, Henry will need to make money – not 10 years from now, but right now.

And selling or redeveloping the paper’s headquarters on Morrissey Boulevard is a relatively quick solution to the cash crunch issue.

After all, no money, no paper.

Scott Van Voorhis can be reached at sbvanvoorhis@hotmail.com