Cairns North’s development: Dean Vella wants cool suburb future, not medical centres and petrol
A Cairns businessman warns his suburb is at a development crossroads with a “sparky” artistic gateway to the city on one side and a steady stream of the ill and infirm on the other.
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A CAIRNS businessman warns his suburb is at a development crossroads with a “sparky” artistic gateway to the city on one side and a steady stream of the ill and infirm on the other.
Landmark Gallery director and artist Dean Vella fears Cairns North is on the cusp of being saturated by medical centres, service stations and other high-return but culturally void developments.
He adores his little slice of the main tourist entry to Cairns on Sheridan St but believes it could be much more.
“Cairns North is going through a transition with the old substation being knocked down and a service station going in there,” he said.
“But we’ve got the art gallery here, a framing shop, interior designer.
“What we don’t need is more medical centres, doctors’ offices and dentists.
“We’re sitting on the main arterial road north of Cairns to the airport.
“Just about every tourist that comes to Cairns comes through this area.
“There needs to a bit of vibrancy to it so you’re not just driving through a sea of medical centres.”
Council planning records show four medical centres have been flagged for Cairns North in the past year.
Most appear to be approval-banking operations in search of a buyer to see the construction through.
That seems the case for the former Globetrotters backpacker hostel at 156 Lake St, earmarked for a new childcare and medical centre.
Its council assessment is still pending but it remains on the market as a redevelopment opportunity for specialist medical suites “on the doorstep of the future JCU teaching facility”.
Mr Vella believed the Cairns University Hospital expansion project, spearheaded by James Cook University, had only spurred on the recent appetite for medical developments.
He was hopeful plans to replace a burnt-out Queenslander across the road from his business into ritzy apartment and retail towers would go ahead.
But currently, it is just a charred shell beside another derelict eyesore that is being used by squatters.
“We don’t need to just attract sick people here. It needs to be a sparky area,” Mr Vella said.
“It’s obvious there are mental health facilities around the place with all sorts of patients wandering around who need to be in care.
“I don’t mean prison, I mean proper care instead of walking around picking up cigarette butts all day.
“The system has let them fall through the cracks.
“That’s the sort of environment we don’t want to create here.
“We want a dining precinct and shops with stuff for people to do.”
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Originally published as Cairns North’s development: Dean Vella wants cool suburb future, not medical centres and petrol
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