WDRB-WMYO Sets Major Building Expansion

The Block Communications-owned duopoly in Louisville, Ky. (DMA 48), of Fox affiliate WDRB and WMYO (MNT) said today that it will begin a major physical expansion of its Muhammad Ali Boulevard studio and office complex in March.

The expansion will add more than 11,000 square feet to the existing building and is expected to be completed by January 2014. The building originally opened in June 1980.

“This expansion has been made necessary by the incredible growth our stations have experienced in the past several years,” said Bill Lamb, the stations’ president-GM. “Since the so-called ‘Great Recession’ began in 2009, we’ve actually added 25 employees to our news and sales staffs. This move will not only provide space for the added personnel, but will also greatly enhance our production capabilities by adding a second studio and control room.”

Plans call for both levels of the building to be expanded west to the Seventh Street sidewalk and south into what is now landscaped space behind the existing structure.

“When this building opened almost 33 years ago, WDRB had fewer than 40 employees,” said Lamb. “Now, we have more than 160 working in virtually the same space that existed then. This will give us the breathing room we’ve needed for a long time and provide our employees with what I believe will be the finest television facility in the market. And as an added bonus, it will allow us to remain part of Louisville’s vibrant downtown scene instead of simply relocating.

“While almost all strategic decisions for WDRB and WMYO are made at the local level, which is a major advantage in and of itself,” Lamb said, “a major project like this needed corporate approval. And we certainly got the necessary encouragement from our owners.” 

Block Communications. Inc. CEO Allan Block said: “We want to do everything we can to allow the impressive growth of WDRB and WMYO to continue. They are on a roll.”