Since the pandemic and the introduction of flexible working, the RCOT HQ building has been significantly underused. It’s important that we make the most of all our investments, including our building, so that they help us to develop and enhance the services and benefits we offer to our members.
We’ve been talking to Council about this since January 2022. They agreed we should look at options to make sure the building is used more effectively, while reflecting our commitment to offering flexible working to staff. Those options included renting some floors on a commercial basis to tenants, as well as potentially selling the building. Council agreed that we should progress with the option to rent out some space commercially.
Since January, we've undertaken extensive planning and financial modelling and presented a proposal to Council at their meeting on 7 September 2022. Council agreed that we should refurbish four floors (1–4) so that we can offer them to commercial tenants and remodel the ground floor to accommodate flexible working for RCOT staff.
This approach has significant benefits. As well as providing a great, flexible working space for RCOT, it will also provide a significant income stream. By growing our commercial revenue through rental income, we can develop and enhance the services and benefits we offer to our members. By renting office space, we intend to then reduce membership fee increases in the future, as we’re very mindful of the financial pressures that our members are facing.
We’re closing the building from 3 October 2022 to early 2023 while the building work is underway. This approach means that the work will be completed quicker. We will be working from home during this time and will continue to deliver the usual member services.
The building will be renamed Phoenix House, which Council unanimously agreed – reflecting both the historic association with occupational therapy and the emergence of the Borough area in the 1960s from the damage incurred during the Blitz.