A planned $500 million health and well-being precinct will take up one third of the University of Wollongong’s sprawling Innovation Campus.
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The university opened expressions of interest (EOI) on Friday for a partner to help it develop the precinct which will include health and aged care facilities for the community, as well as research and training opportunities.
UOW chief finance officer Damien Israel said the precinct would complement – and add to – existing health services in the region.
‘’Our concept is for an integrated set of health-related services including independent seniors’ living and aged care as well as a general practice and allied health diagnostic-style facility,’’ Mr Israel said.
‘’There would also be supporting services such as childcare to support both employees of that precinct and clients that come to it.’’
The proposed precinct would sit at the southern end of the 33-hectare campus at North Wollongong. Fully developed, it would represent a $400-$500 million investment in the region.
UOW Pro Vice-Chancellor Health Strategy Alison Jones said the precinct would focus on preventative health and well-being for all ages.
‘’It is aiming to address the global and regional challenges related to healthy living,’’ she said. ‘’The whole point is to deliver improved health and well-being outcomes for the Illawarra.
‘’Having active clinical researchers on site is fundamental to delivering the best quality healthcare to the community. And by incorporating a teaching and learning environment, we are training the next generation of health professionals.’’
Professor Jones said the project could generate more than 1000 new jobs, both during construction and in the ongoing development.
‘’By investing in such a major way in the region we think we’ll make a real difference to the economic prosperity of our region,’’ she said.
EOI are open until December 16, with prospective partners needing to have had past success in developing projects of this size.
‘’We’re looking for world class innovative models of healthcare,’’ Prof Jones said.
‘’We’re called the Innovation Campus for a reason – we don’t want to do things in the same old way.
‘’We want to develop a leading-edge health facility that anyone in the world would be proud of and that we’re proud of here in the Illawarra.’’
