Lake Macquarie: GPV lodges new plans for private hospital on old Charlestown Public School site

The pre-Covid plans for a $70 million private hospital in the heart of Charlestown were for 11-storeys and 110-beds. Now its under $30 million for 23 beds. Find out why.

Hunter-based developer GPV Property has lodged scaled-back plans for a four-storey, 23-bed private hospital and medical centre on Smith St in the heart of Charlestown, Lake Macquarie.

A Hunter-based medical property developer has lodged new plans for a scaled-back, four-storey GP clinic, pharmacy, allied health and 23-bed private hospital at Charlestown.

The plans would see the proposal sneak under the $30 million capital investment threshold of a “state significant” development.

With seven health and medical centres to its name, GPV Property has lodged new plans for a “regionally significant development” at 31-33 Smith St, Charlestown, less than 12 months after lodging a nearly identical scoping proposal for a “state significant development” valued at $46.8 million.

This was down from an initial concept proposal for a $70 million, 11-storey health hub and 110-bed private hospital floated in 2019, which was similarly scaled back to nine storeys.

“The initial CIV (capital investment value) calculations were prepared when the building was a concept design, which was a larger building (up to nine storeys) and larger multi deck carpark (up to five storeys) than currently proposed,” the new development application (DA) states.

An artist’s impression of the new medical centre/private hospital in the heart of Charlestown, Lake Macquarie. Picture: supplied

“In addition, the building was being proposed as a complete (or nearly complete) internal floor fit-out. This resulted in a CIV in the order of $40m. Hence the proposal met the criteria for

State Significant Development (SSD), and the SSD process had commenced.

“However, when Covid-19 hit the anchor tenants changed, and the design was reduced in scale. It became necessary to modify, and scale back, the design. Each of the anchor tenants also requested that they take control of their own approval for the fit-out of their tenancies.”

The site has remained largely vacant since Charlestwon Public School moved across the road in 1998.

As a result the majority of the 10,000sq m floor space will be “warm shells” for speculative tenancies, which will have to lodge their own DAs, bringing the cost of the development below $30 million but above $5 million.

According to the development application the first floor has been leased to new anchor tenant SonicHealth for a 938sq m GP clinic for 15 doctors and three nurses, a 220sq m retail pharmacy and separate imaging, skin clinic and pathology rooms.

Level one would also feature 100 visitor and staff carparking spaces and a lobby.

Levels two and three would feature nearly 40 medical, general and allied health consulting tenancies with 78 more staff parking spaces, while level four would be designed to accommodate a 23-bed private hospital or day surgery with two operating theatres.

An artist’s impression of how it would look from the Pacific Highway next to McDonalds. Picture: supplied

The proposed height of the new building is 21.3m, which is well below the 36.5m maximum height allowed under site’s current zoning.

The prime corner block location, which fronts Smith and Frederick streets and the Pacific Hwy, has largely sat vacant since Charlestown Public School moved into its current digs across the road in 1998.

Artist's impression of Lake Macquarie Private Hospital at Gateshead after a planning proposal was lodged to rezone the site up to 10 storeys or 30m. Picture: supplied

The new DA has gone on public exhibition with Lake Macquarie Council but will ultimately go before the Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel for determination. Residents have until January 11 to lodge a submission.

GPV Property was contacted for comment.

It comes after council and Ramsay Health lodged a planning proposal earlier this month with the state government to rezone the Lake Macquarie Private Hospital site at Gateshead to increase its height from 10m to 37m.

The proposal would allow the existing hospital to build a new 10-storey tower and expand from 187 beds to 248 beds, along with 14 operating theatres, three cardiac catheter labs, radiology and oncology services and an enhanced 24-hour emergency department.

Submissions on that proposal close February 3.