ONE of Scotland's oldest and most prestigious universities is to set up a new base in the heart of Glasgow's traditional east end.
Teams of Glasgow University researchers will relocate to the Bridgeton area from their campus in the city's west end.
The move by experts working to address the city's poor health will bring around 45 jobs to the area's historic Olympia building.
A team of 15 covering five of the University's schools and nine of its research centres will share the space with 30 staff from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH).
The latest move means almost 2,000 office workers have made Bridgeton or Dalmarnock their new home over the last three years.
It is seen as a vote of confidence in the Clyde Gateway project, aimed at regenerating swathes of the de-industrialised east end and South Lanarkshire, with Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil welcoming the new tenants to the Olympia today.
The former variety theatre and cinema, which was reopened by Clyde Gateway after a £10 million refurbishment, now houses a public library, café, performance centre for boxing and Scotland's first Mediatheque offering free access to the British Film Institute's archives.
The team of academics and researchers will be joining Police Scotland and the Glasgow Women's Library as recent newcomers to the area, with successful arts and cultural organisations such as Chemikal Underground Records, the David Dale Gallery and Andrew Muirhead, the world's biggest supplier of leather to the airline industry, located there for several years.
Mr Neil said: "With the university and GCPH now moving east it's clear that perceptions are changing and organisations now have the confidence to relocate to this vibrant, evolving area.
"Thanks to the legacy of the Commonwealth Games and Clyde Gateway's commitment to redeveloping the area, the east end of Glasgow has transformed beyond recognition over the last few years.
"I'm excited to see how the tenants will continue their valuable research in these new surroundings, and establish how we can bridge the poverty gap and tackle inequalities in Glasgow."
Ian Manson, chief executive of Clyde Gateway, said: "The decision by the university to move to the east end might raise a few sceptical eyebrows but such people have a very an outdated view of Bridgeton and Dalmarnock and don't realise our business community is strong, stable and diverse.
"This is a particularly important relocation for us. Our efforts to bring the Olympia back into use some 20 years after it had seemingly closed its doors for the final time have proved very worthwhile."
GCPH Director, Professor Carol Tannahill, said: "This is an important point in time to build the Commonwealth Games legacy by focussing on improving the health and wellbeing of all of Glasgow's people and the GCPH team is looking forward to playing its part."
Work will begin next month on the fit-out and layout of the top floor of the Olympia with staff likely to move in over the summer months.
The B-listed Olympia opened in 1911 as the Theatre of Varieties before serving as a 2,500 seat cinema from 1924-74. It later operated as a bingo hall and furniture warehouse before closing in the early 1990s. It feel into disrepair following a fire in 2004.
Glasgow University was originally located on the periphery of the east end, at High Street near the Cathedral, before it moved to its present site at Gilmore Hill in the west end.
Vice Principal Professor Anne Anderson described the move as an "innovative and ambitious venture", which will "make a real difference to people's lives in the future".
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