The office portion of a BT/Openreach telephone exchange in London is set to become a hotel.

UK real estate firm Dominus has published plans to redevelop 123 Judd Street into a 250-bed hotel.

Developed in the 1920s as a purpose-built telephone exchange for what was then the Post Office, the site was rebuilt in the 1950s after being damaged in World War II.

Also known as Kelvin House, parts of the building were used as ancillary offices by BT and later its Openreach subsidiary; it was used as the latter’s main headquarters for a time. Openreach relocated to a new HQ last year, and the office portions of the building have been vacant since May 2024, even as the exchange remained in place.

Despite a renovation around 2017, Openreach chief commercial officer, Katie Milligan, described the former office around the time of the move as a “tired exchange building.”

Dominus said part of the building will continue to be used as a telephone exchange after the hotel is developed.

The real estate firm said the external walls and main structure of the building will all be retained, refurbished, and upgraded, but the firm is exploring the removal of parts of the roof. The company aims to add at least one extra story to the building.

The company aims to submit an application for planning permission in the summer and begin construction in Spring/Summer 2026 for a summer 2028 opening date.

A public consultation for the project is now open.

DCD has reached out to Openreach for comment.

Founded in 2011, privately-owned Dominus is a hotel operator and developer. The company owns and operates five hotels under the Hilton and Marriott brands in Bath, London, and Oxford, with a sixth hotel under construction at Great Tower Street in the City of London.

Local residents have voiced concerns to the Camden New Journal over the proposed vertical extensions of the exchange.

A Dominus spokesperson told the Journal: “Our plans include an additional floor and would increase the height of the building from six to seven stories. Based on our experience, and following feedback from the community, we plan to create a hospitality training academy, in partnership with the Springboard Charity, to provide education, training, and job opportunities.”

BT subsidiary Openreach currently operates some 5,600 telephone exchanges across the UK; most of those are for copper and other legacy services, with the company operating its fiber service from around 1,000 newer exchanges, known as Openreach Handover Points (OHPs).

In 2023, Openreach said it aims to close 103 legacy exchanges by December 2030, starting with a trial of five sites – later reduced to three – which are due to close next year.

The company is in discussions with communications providers, including BT, Sky, Vodafone, and others, over closing the other 4,600 exchanges the company has across the UK in the 2030s.

Almost all of the group’s exchange footprint is owned by Telereal Trillium, which acquired the majority of BT’s real estate portfolio back in 2001 for £2.3bn. Over the years, Telereal (operating as TT Group) has sold a number of exited BT offices and several exchanges, with most converted into residential developments.