Past and present members of Milton Park’s innovation community gathered for a demolition ceremony to celebrate the science and technology that has spun-out of its wartime buildings
Although no longer habitable, the event was an opportunity to say a fond farewell to 57 and 59 Jubilee Avenue, Milton Park’s last two remaining single-storey wartime buildings, prior to demolition, and to recognise their contribution to life-changing endeavours over the years.
57 and 59 Jubilee Avenue were adapted to provide vital incubator space for pioneering science companies, which included early Oxford University spinouts such as Oxford Asymmetry International, acquired by Evotec and Avidex, which evolved into Immunocore and Adaptimmune. Representatives from these drug discovery multinationals attended the event to commemorate their origins in the buildings.
Today, the organisations collectively employ thousands of people across the globe and are among Milton Park’s largest occupiers. Oxford Immunotec (now Revvity), Oxitec and Glide Pharma (now Enesi Pharma) all resided in the buildings and have subsequently stayed and spun-out into larger buildings onto Milton Park.
“Normally in the property world when we mark a milestone it’s usually to celebrate planning permission, groundbreaking, practical completion or an official opening. I can honestly say, this is the first time I have ever hosted or attended a demolition ceremony.
It was a poignant event and I’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to share their personal stories and anecdotes as we look ahead to building on the past, whilst realising Milton Park’s future plans.” – Philip Campbell, Milton Park’s Commercial Director
Looking back on a century of innovation, the demolition of the buildings will enable Milton Park to build on its 2040 Vision, a future ambition to continue to support innovation for decades to come.
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