Cairns University Hospital: Demolition due for JCU development site
Wrecking crews will roll into town this week to start major demolition works ahead of the first $60m stage of the Cairns University Hospital upgrade.
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WRECKING crews will roll into town this week to start major demolition works ahead of the first $60m stage of the Cairns University Hospital upgrade.
James Cook University (JCU) is ready to pull the trigger on its Far North Queensland Health and Innovation Precinct even as the state government lags on its crucial hospital side of the project.
The university caused a stir earlier this year when it caught the Queensland Government by surprise and used federal funding to buy the land required for the entire university hospital project.
It wound up being a masterstroke.
JCU can now bring forward its federally-funded educational part of the project instead of waiting for Queensland Health to get its ducks in a row.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said the university was ready to bring in the bulldozers this week to make way for the new tech precinct.
“They’re ready to go, they’ve acquired exactly what they need,” he said.
“They will clear the site and when the state government gets its act together, they can come and buy some of the land JCU has acquired to build their component.”
JCU is believed to have brokered a deal of up to $25m to buy 12,331sq m of property bounded by Sheridan, Charles and Digger streets in Cairns North.
The Cock & Bull and Tradies Bar will be spared from redevelopment as part of the deal – but owner Graham Johnston did agree to sell off an expansive carpark attached to the pubs.
It still remains to be seen what will happen to the iconic and controversial James Cook statue that stands vigil over the site.
Mr Johnston sold the massive statue to JCU as part of his land deal, and said he had “no idea” what the university had planned for the sizeable sailor.
“It belongs to JCU now,” he said.
It is understood squatters have been causing issues in at least one unit in the area that has been left vacant awaiting demolition.
JCU Cairns director David Craig said the project’s masterplan still needed to be completed.
An early artist’s impression showing a modern piazza with lawns, trees and water features has been released, but the finished product could be quite different.
“The masterplanning process for the site is ongoing,” Dr Craig said.
“This involves JCU, the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service and Queensland Health, as well as consultation with stakeholders.
“This project is an important one for Cairns and for all the organisations involved, and the master planning process will help us make the best use of the resources available.
“In preparation for future works, a local contractor will soon begin demolishing some vacant buildings on site.”
It is understood the first stage of the development will allow research and education staff currently housed at the Cairns Hospital to be shifted to the new facility, freeing up space for more beds.
Research laboratories, education and teaching spaces, an auditorium and staff offices have all been flagged in the plan.
The Queensland Health component – which could still require another $160m investment – will be more focused on the medical and surgical requirements of a tertiary-level facility.
It can today be revealed the state government’s promised $1.5m preliminary business case for the project has been completed but is being kept under wraps.
“The preliminary business case (PBC) for the Cairns University Hospital project was presented the Department of Health in October 2021,” Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service CEO Tina Chinnery said.
“The PBC is now being evaluated before being moved to the detailed business case phase which provides detail about specifications of the building, costings and requirements.”
A time frame for that part of the overall plan has not been released.
Mr Entsch said the university had kept its side of the deal and it was time for the state government to do the same.
“I’ve now switched my focus to securing the 80 additional university medical places that are going to be needed to make sure we maximise the success of this critical piece of infrastructure,” he said.
“I’ve already put in a bid, working with the university, Advance Cairns and others.
“This is a red letter day for us.
“The university has done all of the heavy lifting, they’ve gone out and bought every bit of land within the budget they were allocated by the federal government.
“Now we to make sure the state government comes through.”
JCU is not the only tertiary institution eyeing off the city with CQUniversity campaigning for a $50m federal election commitment to build a new campus in the CBD.
It already has the site earmarked – the site of a former post office at the corner of Grafton and Hartley streets.
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