One of the UK's biggest ever tech hubs is set to open within months at the London Olympic Park
Thousands of tech workers
The press and broadcast centres used to share the Olympics with the rest of the world are at the heart of the project. They were initially designed to cater to over 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and print journalists, which means they inherited one of the best connectivity infrastructures in the country, according to Poole. This includes access to 42MVA (mega-volt amps) of power, and fibre networks that have remained in place around the Olympic Park following the London 2012 Games. 75% of the UK's major internet exchanges are just two miles away in Docklands, Here East claims.
The media buildings, which cost a reported £355 million, are huge. Between them they offer over 1 million square foot of commercial space.
The New Shoreditch?
With 3,228 tech firms per square kilometre, Shoreditch has long been the home of London's technology scene but there are an increasing number of hubs in the city that are fighting for attention, from King's Cross to Croydon to Stratford.
BT Sport has already moved in
BT Sport agreed a 10-year lease in 2012 to be the anchor tenant of the broadcast centre. Today BT Sport has three TV studios, a control centre, 20 edit suites, and an audience holding area at Here East.
While BT Sport is perhaps the best-known tenant, the one taking up the most space is data centre provider Infinity, which has built a data centre into the broadcast building that takes up more than half of the building's footprint.
Academic Institutions including University College London (UCL), Loughborough University, and Hackney Community College are also going to be tenants at Here East. The universities plan to open research and development facilities, while Hackney Community College plans to offer digital apprenticeships in partnership with BT Sport.
The developers hope that a theatre, shops, bars, a microbrewery, and restaurants will keep those that work at Here East entertained, as well as fed and watered.
While space is filling up, there's still plenty of room left for other corporates to move in, according to Poole, who says he's particularly keen to see the innovation units of large media agencies and banks move in.
At the same time, he's adamant that he doesn't want a tech giant like Microsoft or Facebook to move its headquarters to Here East. The reason, according to Poole, is that they'll keep themselves to themselves and they won't integrate with the community. He said he's been approached by several large technology companies that he's turned away.
Innovation Centre
One of the site's key features will be the "Innovation Centre," according to Poole.
The space, which was due to open in July 2015 but now has no official opening date, will include a 45,000 square foot incubator, possibly to be run by a company like Techstars or Seedcamp, a coworking space and managed offices. Poole said Here East will have some announcements to make around who the tenant(s) will be for the Innovation Centre within the next few weeks.
The success of Here East will largely depend on how it is perceived by the young technologists and creatives that power many of the startups in London. It also needs to get more large corporates involved, beyond BT Sport.
Can Stratford become the new Shoreditch? It'll take some doing.