The education and arts trust Out of the Blue (OOTB) has entered into a rent-free pre-lease agreement with the Council while it tests infrastructure, systems and processes at the refurbished Powderhall Stables.
After many delays, the project to upgrade and ‘plug in’ the former waste-transfer station offices was completed late last year.
OOTB building-maintenance staff will now spend 2 or 3 days a week checking it all works: everything from power and water to windows, doors, locks, fire alarms, loos, Wi-Fi and signage. Central heating will be gradually increased – too swift a rise in temperature causes problems even in modernised old buildings like this.
The process could take 3–6 months (longer if serious snags are discovered), during which time details will be finalised around the 75-year lease which the Council agreed to grant OOTB in 2022.
[Above: large studio. Below: co-working space.]
A lucky few applicants will then be allowed to move into the mix of 12 studios, 2 co-working spaces, meeting and function/event rooms, and café.
Rob Hoon (right) has been CEO at Out of the Blue since 1999. He concedes that Powderhall occupants will need to be resilient during construction of housing on the adjacent sites. OOTB are in regular talks with the contractor CCG to mitigate disruption as much as possible.
Despite the inevitable challenges ahead, he has no doubt that many of the 1,600 people OOTB has on its waiting list will be eager to occupy this managed and affordable hub.
In its wider context, Hoon says, ‘At the core of what we’ll do at Powderhall Stables is provide a creative space which will foster community and, in doing so, generate cultural, social and economic value for the city.
‘Powderhall Stables will act not only as a space where creative individuals, organisations, social enterprises and SMEs thrive, but also as somewhere projects, education, enterprise and enjoyment will flourish and grow.’
As well as Powderhall Stables, OOTB currently owns or leases five other buildings, providing space for over 300 people.
For examples of previous Spurtle coverage about the Powderhall site, see Breaking News (25.10.18), (3.1.25), Issues 344, 348, 352.
