A £3MILLION investment in an unused part of Poole’s Dolphin Centre is set to see up to 200 people working in “New York loft-style” surroundings.

The co-working space Foundry is on course to open by Christmas in Brownsea House, upstairs at the bus station end of the shopping centre.

It will take up two storeys of the building whose past uses have included a jobcentre and a dance studio.

Adam Walker, co-founder of Foundry, said the business would welcome everyone, from freelancers making occasional use of a desk, to expanding firms looking for offices.

He expects many of the users to be people who are currently working at home, or who are travelling away from Poole. Space will be rented by the day, week or month.

“We foresee 200 people working from Foundry. We envisage most of our members and occupiers coming from bedrooms, coming from flexible working environments and coming back to Poole,” he said.

“Whether you’re app-building or writing a novel, you’re welcome at Foundry.

“It’s important we are relevant to wall walks of life, all demographics, all life stages and all sectors.”

The 18,000sqft workspace will have an entrance near the top of the escalator leading up from outside HMV.

It will have its own foyer, themed around Poole products such as the Lava lamp as well as local heroes.

There will a members’ lounge as well as flexible workspaces and serviced offices or “studios”.

“When people come and see it, they understand why we use the word studio, because it feels like a New York loft,” said Mr Walker.

Other parts of the building will accentuate the “brutalist” 1960s architecture of the centre.

There will be meeting spaces and room for “campfire”-style talks from business leaders and inspirational figures. The name "Foundry" will be spelled out in large illuminated letters on roof above the bus station. 

Foundry opened its first site recently in Eastbourne – a town that had been overshadowed by Brighton in the same way Poole has sometimes played second fiddle to Bournemouth.

“The places that really excited us are typically overlooked towns. Every town has aspirations, every town has strengths and qualities. Poole is very different from Eastbourne but for me, ‘suburban capitals’ is the way we describe these towns,” said Mr Walker.

Like the Eastbourne site, the Dolphin Centre is owned by landlord Legal & General, which is trying new uses of its space.

It has already turned shop units at Kingland Crescent into Kingland, a row of start-up businesses given two years without rent or business rates. Part of the centre’s Beales store has become an NHS clinic, while another part of the first floor will shortly open as an adult education and skills centre.

“It’s a really interesting time for retail, a really interesting time for town centres and a really interesting time for working habits,” said Mr Walker.

Foundry will be working with local influencers to get people to visit the building and take a tour.

Mr Walker said there was a growing move towards working among colleagues again.

“More people are saying we need to come back to the office and they’re setting deadlines for that,” he said.

“That  doesn’t mean five days a week, it means flexible working, but you will have to report back to the office X number of days a week.

“Human beings are social animals. We need to be around each other."

He said this applied to seasoned workers as well as to young people who “need to be in a situation that promotes growth”.

“Working from the end of your bed isn’t healthy. Zoom calls and Teams meetings from your mum and dad’s kitchen isn’t going to get you noticed,” he added.

He wants the workspace to be somewhere that businesses are keen to show to visitors. "It’s really important to us that people feel proud of where they work," he said.