Australia’s Biggest Medical Centre Comes to Melbourne
Victorian Minister for Health Daniel Andres MP is expected to unveil the new $60 million Epping Medical & Specialist Centre, at 300 Cooper Street, later this week.
The 10,000 square metre centre will be developed by a consortium including the McMullin Group, Robert Scanlon and Sovereign Health on a prominent slice of the 125-hectare Northpoint Enterprise Park.
Trading all day every day, the centre is opposite the public Northern Hospital, and Melbourne’s proposed Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market at the corner of the Hume Freeway and Cooper Street.
It is widely tipped a $60 million, 120-bed hospital will be developed on a parcel of land behind the new medical centre, however this could not be confirmed.
“The magnitude of the project is such that it will be a one stop health and medical services stop offering a vast array of services at one location,” said Northpoint director Trevor Gorman. “We are currently looking at close to a 50 per cent pre-commitment of the space by doctors, specialists and medical services providers.
Apelbaum & Co director Tim Atkin, who specialises in medical sector real estate, said medical professionals are increasingly particular about the standard of new professional accommodation and require the convenience of locations immediately adjacent to large established medical facilities such as Northern Hospital.
“An important factor is the integration of services combining public and private practices,” he said.
He said medical-based tenants will pay “above market” suburban office rents for office space located close to other medical facilities and hospitals.
The new medical centre is the latest in a string of major new projects announced for Epping, one of nine Transit Cities in the State Government’s Melbourne 2030 policy.
Dandenong, Frankston, Ringwood and Footscray are under major transit cities the government will invest its own funds and encourage private sector development ventures.
The Epping Medical & Specialist Centre may be the newest medical sector development announcement, but it is not the only one approved for this financial year.
Medical related property development underway includes a $45 million expansion of the Frankston Hospital, a $25 million upgrade of four wards at the Western Hospital, a $20 million new wing for the Sunshine Hospital and an $8 million upgrade to wards at the Maroondah Hospital, industry experts say.
A new $12 million short-stay unit will also be developed at the Northern Hospital.
