Gold Coast Health and Knowledge precinct in Southport poised for development surge
A previously shunned part of the Gold Coast is set for a massive makeover with landmark buildings among a raft of new plans. HERE’S WHAT’S PROPOSED
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Eye-catching landmark buildings are planned for the Health and Knowledge precinct in Southport, promising to transform an area that has lain largely dormant since the Commonwealth Games.
Priority development applications have been lodged for new projects at Nexus Way and Knowledge St which will provide state-of-the-art facilities for medical practitioners and researchers.
Construction work has also begun in earnest on the Proxima children’s health and education centre on Frazer St, while approval has been granted for a major new aged care facility on the corner of Village Boulevard and Innovation Drive.
Bordered by the Smith Collective, Gold Coast University Hospital and Griffith University, the Health and Knowledge precinct had been touted as a key legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, with multiple developments and thousands of jobs promised.
However progress had been slow, with sites left empty.
That now promises to change thanks to the recent applications, the most striking of which is a proposed nine-storey Research and Development Centre of Excellence on Nexus Way.
Planning documents reveal the building by Northwest Healthcare Properties will provide space for “research and development ventures” and health services.
While the documents state emergency services or surgery will not be provided, permission is sought to allow overnight stays for patients.
The documents also flag a possible pedestrian bridge connecting the development to Gold Coast Private Hospital, which would be subject of a separate application.
Images included in the application show an eye-catching design which the applicants hope will provide “a unique corner landmark” on Nexus Way and Hill Street, with a prominent curved atrium at its entrance leading to a pedestrian walkway and a cafe.
Another major development is proposed for the next block up, where medical professionals will be able to unwind with a cold drink after work an 11-storey building called The North Star.
The bulk of the building at the corner of Bonner and Knowledge Streets is to be reserved for medical practitioners and researchers, but plans show it will also include a podium-level bar, restaurant and function centre.
“The proposal includes an 11-storey mixed-use medical research and innovation hub for the precinct that aims to advance the treatment of a variety of health conditions and the development of new and emerging technologies across a range of health sectors,” the application states.
Dr Alan Parnham, a renal specialist and founder of the North Star Project, said the building was “developed for health professionals, by health professionals”.
“Quality medical research requires intelligence and hard work as well as proximity to inspiration and a stimulating work area,” Dr Parnham said.
“Complementing the clinical work done in The North Star will be world-class medical research.”
Provider Infin8 is behind plans for the aged care facility on a corner site fronting the park on Innovation Drive, which is expected to cater for 142 residents.
The nearby Proxima building, meanwhile, will be focused on children’s health and is currently under construction at a site on Frazer St.
Evans Long Director Matt Evans said it was the developer’s “most exciting” healthcare project to date.
“Proxima is all about collaboration,” Mr Evans said. “It’s about homing like-minded tenants and users within the health sector, but particularly focused on paediatrics.”
Tenants at the building will include Sanctuary Early Learning, Mater pathology and a Cancer Imaging and Therapy Centre.
Gold Coast Hospital and Health Board Chairman Ian Langdon said the development provided “great opportunity” for medical specialists.
“I don’t think you can name anywhere else in Australia at the moment where there’s such an opportunity, an area of land adjacent to a hospital, adjacent to a major university,” he said.
Plans have also been approved for Griffith University’s proposed new ADaPT building on Parklands Dr, but its construction is dependent on the university securing state and federal government funding.
More Coverage
Originally published as Gold Coast Health and Knowledge precinct in Southport poised for development surge
‘She never left Main Beach’: Tribute to the queen of Tedder Ave
The city has lost a Main Beach matriarch who helped create the vision and reputation for the famous Gold Coast street.
Power outage hits central Gold Coasters
A major power outage has suddenly hit the central Gold Coast suburbs of Mermaid and Broadbeach. UPDATES