Belgian Gardens Health Hub returns better than ever after post-cyclone fire
An $8 million Townsville health hub has reopened with an exciting new store after a devastating fire in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily. See what’s changed.
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It was a tough slog, but the $8 million Belgian Gardens Health Hub is back on its feet and better than ever after recovering from devastating post-cyclone fire earlier this year.
First opened at 23 Bundock St in August 2023, the modern hub employed a total of 70 staff through its Belgian Gardens Medical Centre, Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, North Queensland Skin Centre, and Amcal Pharmacy.
The power was severed to the hub for three days following Tropical Cyclone Kirrily’s impact on Townsville, and when it was restored on January 28, a fire began in the pharmacy’s label machine, doing extensive smoke damage to the building costing an estimated $3-4 million.
With the hub’s businesses forced to relocate elsewhere, Belgian Gardens Health Hub director and owner Ash Agaibey worked hard with his insurer and local tradespeople to restore the building to its prior pristine condition.
“It’s been a very, tough year. It’s not just (the fire), it’s dealing with insurance. It’s so much details, so many requirements, it was a full time job dealing and liaising with the insurance company and insurance company contractors,” Mr Agaibey said.
“We had to build the whole shop from scratch again. There was a lot of frustration with delays. For the first five and a half months, I had been pushing and pushing for the admin side of things to be done.
“Without me pushing, I doubt this job would have been finished this year. The good news is I did insist, and I’m glad I did (to ensure) that every local tradie that built the building, needed to be the tradie fixing the building.”
As a result of bringing back the local tradies, he said the quality of the building wasn’t compromised, and local businesses were supported along the way.
Mr Agaibey said he also dipped into his own savings to speed up the rebuilding process, with the doors reopened earlier this month and the official ribbon cutting planned for Friday, November 15.
One of the silver linings to come from the rebuilding process was the merging of a spare space in the hub with the pharmacy, clearing the way for a new WholeLife Pharmacy and Healthfoods business to take over from Amcal.
Wholelife is one of Townsville’s leading compounding pharmacies, offering over 12,000 health and wellness needs products.
“So that’s a pharmacy, but it’s also a health food shop (offering), organic, gluten-free, fitness and supplement products, as well as the traditional pharmacy products,” he said.
“I feel a lot a lot better. The team feels very positive, we are the best we have ever been. Team bonds have been improved a lot after the incident, and we stuck together.”
Planning has begun to open the hub’s upstairs section next year, featuring Allied Health Services including physiotherapists, dietitians, dentists, consultants, and specialists.
For more information on Wholelife, visit: wholelife.com.au.
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Originally published as Belgian Gardens Health Hub returns better than ever after post-cyclone fire
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