Outgrowing its current 49,000sq ft building in Fineview, PA, WPXI, the NBC affiliate in Pittsburgh, has purchased 17 acres in Pittsburgh’s Summer Hill neighborhood, where it will build a new television studio and office building.
The company will begin construction on the $30 million, 66,000sq ft facility in March, with plans to move in by the fall of 2007.
WPXI started pursuing the new site in 2003, but ran into complaints from neighbors over plans to build an 800ft tower. It has since decided to continue using its existing tower rather than building a new one.
The station recently took over production of the 10 p.m. newscast on FOX affiliate WPGH/Channel 53. The station also operates two Web sites.
WPXI also operates local cable news and weather channels, and is owned by Atlanta-based media conglomerate Cox Communications.