LONDON, ONT. -- As the Middlesex-London Health Unit moves into its new location in downtown's Citi Plaza, the manager of operations says they’re using less space more effectively.
The move from the existing headquarters at 50 King Street and a satellite location at 200 Queens Avenue began last week, with about 50 employees having relocated as of Monday.
“It's part of the community, it's better integrated, we're on a bus route,” explains operations manager Joe Belancic.
“It's a great location to be in, and we've had great responses so far, even from other tenants in Citi Plaza.”
The new space is 68,000 square feet, and takes up two floors in the southeast wing of Citi Plaza. That’s down from 85,000 square feet in the existing locations.
Balancic says many employees now utilize shared spaces and so-called activity-based workspaces, rather than being assigned a desk. He said many also work remotely.
“With the advance of technology and other software improvements we now have the ability for staff specifically to work in the community, such as public health inspectors, public health nurses that are visiting or inspecting - to have that ability to spend time in the community and not have to come back to the home base if it's not required.”
As for disruption of public services, Belancic said he expects less than a week of downtime towards the end of the move, to allow for relocation of medical clinics.
The move is expected to be complete by the end of March, with all 300 employees based in the new location by then.
The public entrance will be located just inside the southeast corner of Citi Plaza at King and Clarence streets.
