Developer Criterion Property Group has lodged a development application for a $60 million proposed new medical facility in Wodonga in regional Victoria.
The 103-bed hospital facility will comprise a four-storey building on a 7,300 sqm site on Stanley Street in Wodonga’s CBD.
It will be part of ‘The Quarter’ – a mixed-use development featuring 28 apartments and 4,000 sqm of retail and commercial suites.
The hospital is needed in Victoria’s fastest-growing regional city and will deliver sub-acute care, focussing on rehabilitation, geriatric evaluation and management, and palliative and psychogeriatric care to optimise a patient’s functioning and quality of life.
Criterion engaged LAWD late last year to advise on potential uses for the site and introduce potential partners.
This work was completed, and a Heads of Agreement was signed between Criterion and the medical facility operator in November 2022.
Their research showed there was significant demand for this type of facility in the area.
Criterion founder and Director, John Mooney, said the patient-centred care facility will deliver a superior hotel-type experience, and bring more visitors to the city centre, further supporting local businesses.
“The development will bring a state-of-the-art hospital facility to the centre of town at a time when the area is suffering from a healthcare services shortfall,” Mooney said.
“We believe it will deliver significant benefits to the local community in any number of different ways including creating up to 250 new jobs once fully operational.”
LAWD Director Transactions and Advisory, Andrew Graham, who represented Criterion in the transaction, said it was a significant moment for the Wodonga community to see progress on this long-vacant land for community good.
“The hospital occupier was attracted to the Wodonga area due to the undersupply of quality healthcare services in the broader catchment, its central site position and a quicker planning pathway than what is currently available in New South Wales,” Graham said.
“Accordingly, the transaction was completed relatively quickly and there has already been strong interest in the remaining commercial and medical components within The Quarter project.
“The hospital should now consolidate this part of the CBD into an important service hub.”
Subject to the planning permit approval process, construction is forecast to commence late this year or early 2024 and expected to take 18 months.
The greenfield medical facility will fill the gap in the market for sub-acute or post-operative care, which is currently a challenge due to public hospitals looking to minimise the length of stays and other surgical facilities lacking longer-term recovery options.
