Murdoch University has outlined a plan to build a health-related mixed-use development on vacant land neighbouring Hesperia’s latest project near the Murdoch hospital precinct.
Murdoch University has outlined a plan to build a health-related mixed-use development on vacant land neighbouring Hesperia’s latest project near the Murdoch hospital precinct.
Business News can reveal the university has detailed its proposed vision to build a medium to high-rise mixed-use development on land it bought from the state government in a recently released tender document.
It would be the latest development within the state government’s Murdoch Health and Knowledge Precinct, headlined by the Murdoch Square project being delivered by Hesperia and built by Multiplex.
Murdoch University’s proposed development would be the second project to be built in the northern end of the precinct following Hesperia and Birchmead Property Group’s $75 million development expected to break ground in 2024.
Hesperia and Birchmead Property Group received development approval last year to build an eight-storey office development on lot 118, directly adjacent to the university’s site on lot 119.
Murdoch University is seeking expressions of interest from developers to deliver a mixed-use development on freehold land owned by the university on lot 119, bound by Barry Marshall Parade.
The proposed indicative floor space of up to 30,000 square metres would house Murdoch University as a major education-related tenant alongside a variety of health-related tenants.
Murdoch would occupy a minimum of 2,000sqm to accommodate its Gateway Innovation Centre that would centrally locate its innovation and entrepreneurial activities.
It expects the hub to become a link between the Fiona Stanley and St John of God hospital precinct and its main South Street campus.
Possible facilities could include function and meeting rooms, lecture areas, immersive innovation and entrepreneurial laboratories, technologies spaces, experimentation areas, lounge areas, shared information areas, communal technology and cafe.
“It will be an environment that brings together and supports startups, industry, students and mentors,” according to the tender documents.
“The Gateway Innovation Centre will support the next generation of innovators in health and sustainability to realise their potential.
“Benefiting from its location adjacent to the Murdoch Hospital Precinct, it will be ideally placed to enable and develop an innovation pipeline for health sector business ideas from conception to advancement stages.”
The chosen developer would finance, build, own and operate the development for a thirty-year concession period before it would revert to Murdoch University’s ownership.
According to the tender, Murdoch University plans to determine a developer by the end of the year, commence construction by June 2024 and complete construction by the end of 2026.
In 2019, Murdoch Univeristy and Development WA announced that the site would be transformed into the hub following the state government's sale of the lot 119 site to the university.
At the time, the parties said the facility would be home to stage two of the Australian National Phenome Centre, research laboratories and allied health clinical placement among other related uses.
"The Gateway Project will transform the way health care is delivered by co-locating researchers, academics, students, industry and clinicians in the one state-of-the-art medical precinct," Murdoch University said in 2019.
