Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals approved yesterday a 22,000-square-foot expansion of the AT&T; communications facility off Route 140 in Finksburg.

The two-story building will house telephone-switching equipment needed to accommodate the growing demand for the Internet, home office lines and other communication technology, said Nancy J. Ball, an AT&T; building engineer. No additional employees will be hired, she said.

A landmark since it was constructed in 1968, the communication tower is the tip of AT&T;'s 72,000-square-foot communication center, which is underground. The addition, north of the center, will be mostly above ground. Construction is expected to begin March 1 and be completed by Dec. 1.

Board members praised the project for adding to the industrial base, which accounts for roughly 12 percent of the Carroll's tax revenue -- the lowest business-to-residential ratio in the region.

"Anytime we can get an industry to pay taxes we are looking forward to it," said board member Hoby Wolf.

Pub Date: 1/27/99