A groundbreaking ceremony Thursday morning helped kick off the construction of the new headquarters for WOSU Public Media.

The new building will be located at the corner of East 14th Avenue and Pearl Alley just east of The Ohio State University campus. The $29 million building is part of the new 15+HIGH project being developed by Campus Partners. The five-floor, 52,000-square-foot WOSU headquarters and studios is expected to be completed by early 2021.

“This new headquarters will be transformative for WOSU, but more importantly it significantly expands our ability to serve this growing community and the Ohio State campus,” said Tom Rieland, general manager of WOSU Public Media. “Much more than just a structure, this space encourages public engagement through experiential activities and events, it’ll be a place for the community and students to create their own stories, a collaborative public space to discuss the primary issues facing our community and the world. This new facility provides a new model for public media across the country.”

The building will feature an open 2,200-square-foot community studio, an expanded newsroom, broadcast studios, a performance studio and a state-of-the-art media learning lab. Rieland said the facility will enable WOSU to expand and enhance its programming for the more than 2 million citizens it reaches through television, radio, digital channels and its WOSU Classroom services.

Ohio State Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron said the new headquarters will help connect the new 15+HIGH district with the heart of campus.

“Location matters. Proximity to campus will allow hundreds of students to have an experience with WOSU every year, creating regular connectivity to that academic core that we’ve referenced,” he said. “WOSU will truly be reknit into the fabric that is the culture of this campus in a wholly new way.”