Progress Update – July

We are now into July and our second month of transforming Criffel View into Crichton Central. Many of you will know Criffel View as the building where Fresco Cafe was. It was a popular cafe, enjoyed by tenants, visitors, academic staff and students working, visiting and studying at The Crichton. Fresco Cafe was closed in March 2020, just prior to the start of the coronavirus lockdown and since restrictions started to eased in June 2020, the whole building has been undergoing a significant refurbishment.

Conveniently located between the University Campus and the Business Park, Criffel View is the perfect location for bringing academia and business together. Under the management of The Crichton Trust, Criffel View will open as Crichton Central early in 2021. With how and where we work having changed dramatically in 2020, The Crichton Trust is hopeful that the timely opening of the new facility in early 2021, will help meet the changing needs of the community and will connect and reconnect people as we emerge into our new world.

From mid-July, the takeaway service previously offered at Fresco Cafe will be available from Easterbrook Takeaway and Outdoor Bar at Easterbrook Bistro.

Progress is continuing within Criffel View, which most recently has seen new gutters being fitted to the exterior of the building. Roy has also been busy checking the drains, while inside new data cables have been installed and a new print room has been created. As you might expect, Crichton Central is going to fitted out with the latest in technology to provide members and visitors with high-speed broadband and event organisers with the capability to attract both a live and virtual audience when hosted at Crichton Central.

Gordon Clark, Head of Property Services at The Crichton Trust said: “The building is changing daily now and it’s going to keep on changing! Over the next few weeks we will be putting in the foundations for the steel pillars, doing the first fix in the meeting rooms and putting a new ceiling in the space that will become the Changing Places Toilet – watch this space!” Read more about our new Changing Places Toilet in the next blog.

10 July…

17 July…

Mid July and the concrete wall in the kitchen is being removed to open up the space for the new cafe! Can you see yourself meeting in these meeting rooms and drinking coffee in our cafe yet? Maybe you’re not quite ready to commit to our new Crichton Central membership scheme! Would toilets and heating help?

Next up – floor insulation. Meanwhile, the plumbers are doing the first fix in the kitchen, ceiling boards are going up and we are getting closer to the important matter of underfloor floor heating!

24 July and the underfloor heating is being installed. We don’t need the heating on this month, but we’re sure to appreciate it next winter when the temperature drops. Imagine the luxury of working in Crichton Central – cosy meeting rooms, coffee and homemade soup on demand and no need to leave the building after your meeting – just find a quite space to plug in your laptop, order a coffee and tackle the next task on your to-do list.

31 July…the underfloor heating installation has been completed and more walls are coming down to open up the cafe area. So, we can start to see it is really starting to take shape now. What would you like to see on the menu in Crichton Central? A bacon roll or a freshly baked scone for your morning coffee, your favourite panini for lunch before you enjoy a quick walk around the block or maybe its a working lunch kind of day!

Well that was July. Keep checking back in to see what August has in store.