A private developer has put down plans for a mixed-use commercial and healthcare development in the northern Brisbane suburb of Chermside, one of the Queensland capital’s fastest-growing areas.
The medical precinct is planned for an amalgamated 3600sq m site on the corner of Gympie Road and Wallace Street, about 500m from Prince Charles Hospital and near St Vincents Private Hospital—and 400m south of the Chermside shopping centre.
The site is also next to QML pathology, Wallace Street Specialist Centre and Brisbane North Eye Centre.
Chermside, about 9km from the CBD and known as the “new mini-central business district”, has been benefiting from a slew of new commercial developments planned to support an additional 9000 people expected to be living in the suburb by 2041.
Private entity L&A Maccheron Property, which is headed by Luke Maccheron, said in its documents submitted to the Brisbane City Council that the nine-storey healthcare-focused development would provide “employment-generating land use”.
The developer has enlisted Mode Architecture to design the project that will include a medical centre, specialist consulting suites, commercial office across 7000sq m of floor space and ground-floor retail and dining.
The upper levels will accommodate a mix of healthcare facilities at levels four and five, and offices at levels seven and eight. There will be a three-level carpark for 200 vehicles and 20 motorbike spaces in the building’s podium.
The development is being overseen by multi-disciplinary property manager Ripple Group, led by brothers Damon and Zane O’Donahoo alongside Lee Whatmore. The Brisbane-based project manager has delivered more than 20 commercial and healthcare developments across Brisbane.
Health precincts remain among the most in-demand commercial assets post-pandemic—driving economic growth, knowledge jobs and innovation.
The once niche healthcare sector has been taking centre stage as developers and investors alike chase its positive dynamics. Low volatility, typically long leases and strong demographic tailwinds will continue to make healthcare real estate assets increasingly attractive.
There are now a growing number of healthcare precincts around the country where developers are using investment to increase partnerships, commercialisation and innovation pathways and opportunities with medical providers.
Key drivers for these new precincts include the complementary mix of health and medical services so they can work together on strengthening the innovation ecosystem, as well as having the ability to test, manufacture and distribute health and medical products.
By grouping clinics, hospitals, research facilities and other health assets together, medical providers are tailoring the ability to attract talent and allow a population to live and access healthcare locally.
Elsewhere in Brisbane, Silverstone Developments is pressing ahead with plans for a $150-million medical facility in South Brisbane. The 12-storey facility for a 1800sq m site fronts 12 Edmondstone Street.
Silverstone Developments is also advancing on a nine-storey development for Dexus at 525 Boundary Street in Spring Hill. It will have five levels of medical space, as well as an ambulance bay and hospital-sized lifts.
Meanwhile, Canadian investment powerhouse Northwest Healthcare Properties has plans for a medical-focused hub including a new hospital at Woolloongabba on Brisbane’s southside.
The proposal comprises an eight-storey building on an east-facing 3000sq m site near the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Further south on the Gold Coast, Keylin Group alongside Kinstone Group has a scheme to deliver the first hospital in decades on the city’s north—which has proven to be an accelerating growth corridor.
The 400-bed private facility at Foxwell-Coomera was designed to complement the Queensland government’s neighbouring public facility, officially unveiled in the budget. It will contribute to the broader plan for a $1.5bn health precinct at nearby Westfield Coomera.
