The owners of a landmark Bristol building have spent tens of thousands of pounds on renovations in a bid to make sure the property has a “financially viable future”.
Property business Connolly & Callaghan (C&C) says it has invested £70,000 on refurbishments at Hamilton House over the past few months.
The well-known community hub is home to hundreds of local artists and small businesses, and has a bar-restaurant - called Canteen - on site. It is also a venue for theatre, music and art exhibitions.
The future of the much-used space has been brought into question in the last 12 months after the site’s former managers, social enterprise Coexist, were evicted last year.
The organisation had been managing the site since 2008 but left in December following months of fraught negotiations with C&C over Hamilton House’s management. The running of the building is now carried out by Frome-based shared workspace operator Forward Space.
C&C says further improvements and investments are planned but it is still not known what the long-term future holds for the hub.
The property business, which bought the former 1970s office block in 2004, had wanted to turn part of the building into flats but the proposals were turned down by a government planning inspector last year.
The company now says it has revamped the building and plans to develop an incubator hub, a new co-working floor for desk-based creatives such as illustrators and architects, and add in a new juice bar on the ground floor opposite Canteen.
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“This will be run by the well-known and much-loved Big Juice company, which has had a stall at St Nicholas Market for some time,” explained Andrew Baker, head of social enterprise for C&C.
“We’re also in discussions around welcoming a major charity here.”
The property is currently made up of three blocks and C&C say “significant works” have been taking place in the studios on the third floor.
This includes the creation of a number of open-plan and partitioned workspaces for artists, five of whom were commissioned to create original artwork on five floors of the building.
Tenants were given free temporary accommodation in Hamilton House while the works were carried out.
Misfits Theatre Company is one of a number of groups which uses space at Hamilton House.
Dave Hanford, admin administrator, said: “When Coexist left, we didn’t know what was going to happen to our jobs and thought we would have to find somewhere else for our office and the workshops.
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“Then Forward Space came on board, which meant we could carry on in the office, and that the workshops were safe.”
Mr Baker added: “Ever since the start of this year there were persistent rumours that Hamilton House was closed, but nothing could be further from the truth.
“There has been a diverse programme of exhibitions, events and activities, with more in the pipeline, plus the renovations and refurbishments that have been taking place.
“We’re very excited to welcome back tenants, to the newly-refurbished studios and see what they come up with on the blank walls we are presenting them with.
“Hamilton House remains very much open for business, and we have a steady stream of community organisations and local businesses signing up with the managers, Forward Space, for office and desk accommodation, including hot-desks, on a variety of flexible terms.
In January, Bristol's deputy mayor for finance, Craig Cheney vowed to look into whether the city council could make a business case to buy the building and keep the facilities running.
The pledge came during a debate at City Hall that was triggered when a petition by protest group ‘Save Hamilton House’ passed the required 3,500 signatures.