The Olympic Park Legacy Company today called for expressions of interest (EOI) for the future use of Broadcast and Press Centres and its surrounding area.

The Legacy Company wants the area to become a long-term centre for employment, bringing investment and job opportunities to east London. During Games-time, the two buildings and a 1,200 capacity car park will be used by more than 20,000 media.

Interested parties have 9 weeks to come forward with proposals aimed at building a new and vibrant employment district in the north-west of the Olympic Park. All viable options are welcome, providing they create employment opportunities, connecting to local communities such as Hackney Wick, with its diverse range of creative businesses.

There has been early interest from a range of sectors including creative, retail, education, sports activity, culture and office use. The market testing will build on that interest and help shape the Company’s approach to fully marketing the site in early 2011.

Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, said:

“Innovation and enterprise will help define the long-term future of the Olympic Park, and the Broadcast and Press Centres are fundamental to this through the creation of opportunities for businesses and the communities living nearby.

“As we did with the Olympic Stadium, we want to bring interested parties to the table and understand how their proposals can fit in with our vision to create an employment district.”

Jules Pipe, elected Mayor of Hackney, said:

“The Broadcast and Press Centres offer an unprecedented opportunity to create a new employment hub in Hackney Wick. They will have world-class communications infrastructure and will be served by excellent new transport links.

“Our vision is to see creative, digital and media industries making the centres their home and taking advantage of the creative community already thriving in the area. We must ensure the employment legacy vital to Hackney and east London is achieved and we will continue to work closely with our partners to secure this for our residents.”

The Broadcast and Press Centres will be the leading commercial site on the Olympic Park, and a fundamental part of the Legacy Company’s vision for the Park to become a centre for enterprise and employment.

The Broadcast Centre, which has the flexibility to be reconfigured into four separate buildings, will offer 8,872m2 of office space over five floors and 53,362m2 of commercial space over two floors. Potential uses could include creative industries, film and broadcast, education, museum, gallery space and back-office functions.

The five-storey Press Centre will provide around 29,455m2 of prime office space.

A car park, with capacity for 1200 spaces and a 28 coach drop-off space, will serve both buildings at Games-time. The Legacy Company wants to gauge the car park requirements for various potential uses through this EOI process.

Interested parties are asked to consult the Company’s Memorandum of Information (MOI), which will include specifications on the site and buildings, the vision for the wider Olympic Park and instructions for formulating a response.

The market testing will be completed by the end of the year, including a month for the Legacy Company to speak to interested parties about their proposals.

Plans for the Broadcast and Press Centres form part of the Legacy Company’s wider plans for the Olympic Park which will include new housing, schools, health centres and offices, along with determining the future of venues like the Aquatics Centre, ArcelorMittal Orbit, Multi-Use Arena and the Olympic Stadium.

Interested parties can access both the MOI and register their interest from Friday 24th September by visiting the dedicated ‘Press and Broadcast Centres Market Testing’ page on this website.