Milton Park unveils plans for new Oxfordshire co-working concept (GB)

Milton Park unveils plans for new Oxfordshire co-working concept (GB)

MEPC Milton Park in Oxfordshire, one of Europe’s largest science and technology communities, has unveiled plans for the Bee House, a new state of the art building which will be Oxfordshire’s newest and largest flexible co-working building. The Bee House will be the result of a €14.4m (£12.4m) refurbishment of 140 Eastern Avenue to meet the growing demand for agile workspace in Oxfordshire from spin-outs and start-ups, those people using the ‘hub and spoke’ model to work locally and travel into city offices less frequently, and companies which require grow-on space.

 

140 Eastern Avenue was built in 1999 and currently totals 37,325ft². It will be completely remodelled to include conversion of the ground floor car park to increase the building to 53,229ft² to a total of three floors with a full triple-height glass entrance and atrium. Inside there will be break-out areas, booth seating, skype booths, and hanging plants.

 

Along with stylish co-working space on the first floor, there will be 51 office suites which will range from 100ft² to 3,000ft² along with The Hive café with kitchen facilities, business lounge, meeting and exhibition space and 150-seat conference space, cycle parking, shower and locker facilities and ample electric vehicle charging points. Once completed, the Bee House is expected to provide capacity for circa 550 people.

 

The environmental credentials of the building, which will be rated BREEAM Excellent, will include a planting scheme with wildflowers and multi-stemmed trees and planting to attract bees and bench seating for outdoor meetings. The building will also be powered by a workspace app meaning that space will be efficient to use both in terms of booking refreshments, rooms and space and controlling light and heating. Works have started and the space will be ready by February 2022.

 

Philip Campbell, MEPC commercial director, Milton Park said: “The Bee House is about us continuing to support individuals and companies of all sizes who need a place to work that is well-connected, with plenty of amenities, surrounded by green spaces and part of a wider commercial ecosystem. By significantly refurbishing an outdated building, we are able to provide co-working memberships and small to medium office space with short term flexible licences for the offices. With our Innovation Centre as full as it can be and the way in which we all work changing, we are seeing strong demand from people looking for a new way to work. We have had enquiries from those wanting to work near their homes but not in their homes, only travel into London a few days a week, or from companies who are reviewing their office requirement post-pandemic, all wanting to be part of a great community that gives them modern and fresh space, a business network, great broadband and excellent coffee! The name for the Bee House derives from it being Milton Park’s spirit animal as a worker which thrives as part of a community and is important to the environment. We can’t wait to welcome people to what will be Oxfordshire’s largest co-working space. It’s going to be buzzing!”

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