Work has begun on Oxfordshire’s largest flexible co-working space at Milton Park.

The Bee House, a £12.4 million refurbishment of 140 Eastern Avenue, will accommodate around 550 workers. The 37,325 sq ft building will be remodelled with the ground floor car park converted to offices, increasing the total space to 53,229 sq ft.

It will then have three floors with a full triple height glass entrance and atrium. Along with co-working space, there will be 51 office suites (ranging from 100 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft), The Hive café, business lounge, meeting and exhibition space, a 150-seat conference area, cycle parking, showers, lockers and electric vehicle charging.

The co-working space will feature break-out areas, booth seating, skype booths, and hanging plants.

A bus stop will be moved to be outside the building and a £20 annual bus pass from all areas of Didcot will be available.

The building is intended to be rated BREEAM Excellent, will include a planting scheme with wildflowers and multi-stemmed trees with further planting to attract bees.

There will also be benches for outdoor meetings. An app will enable booking/ordering refreshments, rooms and space and controlling light and heating.

The Bee House, part of Milton Park’s 2040 Vision, will operate in addition to the Innovation Centre which was launched in 2010.

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“By significantly refurbishing an outdated building, we are able to provide co-working memberships and small to medium office space with short term flexible licences for the offices.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 space will be ready by February 2022.

Visit: www.miltonpark.co.uk/bee-house.

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