Residents of Kangaroo Point are being invited to have their say on the proposed 20-year masterplan of St Vincent’s Health Care for its Mt Olivet Private Hospital site.
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Based on plans submitted to Brisbane City Council, St Vincent’s is seeking to develop large residential highrise towers at their hospital site, with the towers ranging 15 to 19 storeys in height.
The land on the Kangaroo Point site was donated to the Sisters of Charity in the 1950s and was used to build Mt Olivet.
The development was the first dedicated facility for the elderly that had been established by the Sisters in Australia and was also the first modern hospice in Queensland.
In the planning documents, it’s highlighted that the “redevelopment of St Vincent’s site offers an exciting opportunity to activate the river-front and add valuable shared green space to the Kangaroo Point community.”
The masterplan will be done in stages:
Stage 1- includes three levels of carparking to offset existing open air carparks that are lost during the construction of Stage 2.
Stage 2 – allows for residential aged care to be relocated from Marycrest; also includes a Health & Wellness area, freeing up space in the existing buildings to allow for future staged demolition and redevelopment.
Stages 3 & 4 – Residential Aged Care use is relocated from Marycrest into the new Stage 2 building, allowing progressive demolition and redevelopment of the western side of the site. Some health and administration uses are also relocated.
Stages 5 & 6 – could be developed as one for two stages, giving flexibility in decanting and demolition.
“The St Vincent’s Kangaroo Point site is well placed to service the changing needs for an increasingly ageing population within a vibrant inner-city catchment, whilst also expanding the service to continue to reach out to the broader Brisbane community,” planners at Gaskell Planning Consultants stated.
Vehicle access to the site will be via Main Street and Amesbury Street. Pedestrian access from Main St down to the River Walk at the northwest corner of the site can be achieved through an open space.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Sriranganathan, Councillor for The Gabba, expressed some of his concerns regarding the proposed masterplan, especially when it comes to traffic ramifications for Main St and the Story Bridge.
Cr Sriranganathan said the site has long been identified and zoned as being for ‘community facilities’ and that high-density private housing is not ordinarily permitted on ‘Community Facilities’ land.
“If some housing IS to be developed on this site, it should be public housing that’s affordable for people on low incomes, not luxury riverfront apartments targeted at wealthier residents,” said Cr Sriranganathan.
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To make public submissions on this proposal and learn more about the plans, visit Council online’s portal and search for application A005844698.
