Logan city will be without much needed healthcare services after an investor abandoned plans to build a private hospital at Meadowbrook – citing soaring costs and legal challenges.
What would have been a $150 million, nine-storey healthcare facility was approved by Logan City Council in June this year.
But just days later, the neighbours of the Nestor Drive site lodged an appeal to the Court of Planning and Environment challenging council’s decision.
The appeal was submitted by Horwell Property Investments, the owner of the adjacent Meadowbrook Shopping Centre, and Prelate Investments, the owner of a neighbouring parking lot.
The court accepted the appeal on 24 August and “refused” the development application.
The companies argued the hospital would “compromise the co-ordinated and efficient growth of the District Centre at Meadowbrook” by increasing traffic without creating enough parking spaces to compensate.
Their appeal also claimed the development did not comply with the city planning scheme.
Now, supposedly due to construction, operational and court-related costs, investment fund Australian Unity has withdrawn its commitment from the project.
Australian Unity’s healthcare property general manager Chris Smith said demand for private health services in the region remained strong.
“However, the ability to deliver a financially viable project has been challenging due to a number of factors, including the high cost of construction in Queensland and multiple challenges facing some private hospital operators,” Mr Smith said.
“Given the current construction environment in Queensland, we have determined the proposed Meadowbrook Private Hospital is not commercially feasible for the hospital operator, or in the interest of [The Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust (AUHPT)] investors.
“Divestment of the site is considered to be in the best interests of AUHPT and will provide a purchaser with the opportunity to develop alternative uses for the site.”
Mr Smith said resolving the appeal process could take “up to 24 months and have a further significant cost impact to the project”.
The 90-bed hospital would have included nine operating theatres, 60 specialist consulting suites, an onsite pathology laboratory and diagnostic imaging centre.
It was to be built opposite the existing public hospital, but Mr Smith said some private hospital operators were “not producing the level of profit they have previously delivered”.
“A number of operators are expanding, while others are resetting their services mix and business models in response to increasing costs stemming from inflation, rising interest rates, ongoing safety and protection measures and workforce challenges,” he said.
Logan mayor Jon Raven said the city’s economic development team “worked hard” to identify and support the project.
“Unfortunately, the appeal is something out of council’s control,” he said.
“The proposal met a strong need in the market for private health care services.
“It’s incredibly frustrating for me as mayor because the community now misses out.”
Hospital operator Matilda Healthcare was appointed to manage the hospital.
Matilda Healthcare was contacted for comment.
Horwell Property Investments was also contacted for comment via the Meadowbrook Shopping Centre and its property manager.
Prelate Investments could not be contacted.
