A $280 million cancer and medical hospital in Berkeley that is more than 20 years in the making has now progressed for the first time in five years.
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Stage one of a high-tech holistic and medical hospital facility, known as Life City, will be assessed by Wollongong City Council.
The development application includes plans for a medical centre, day surgery and a child care centre for 70 children.
The hospital is the long-held dream of Unanderra GP Dr Mohamad Rashid.
"This will be a unique project," he said. "The hospital will be a modern facility that will provide the best cancer care. There is no project like this in the world. It will be great for locals. The hospital will provide jobs, treatment services and economic benefits for the Illawarra.
"This project has been my dream since I came to Australia from India in 1973.
"I want to give back to the community."
The whole facility in future stages will include medi-hostel and serviced apartment plus the hi-tech holistic hospital with 320 beds for inpatient and oncology treatment.
The latter stages will add self-care seniors housing; residential care facility and holistic health care including yoga, reiki and laughter therapy.
In 2014, the concept plan for the six stages of the "state significant development" was approved by the planning assessment commission, as a delegate of the minister for planning.
Stage one is not considered state significant because the cost does not include a 'hospital or medical centre' with a capital investment value of more than $30 million.
Residents objected to the project in 2013 citing traffic concerns, lack of parking and environmental impact.
Dr Rashid said the project had been in the planning stages for the past five years.
He said the project would be funded through external financing.
Stage one will comprise of the medical centre on the lower floor. That will include diagnostic rooms for radiology, MRI, X-ray, mammography, ultrasound, pathology, a reception area, storage rooms and amenities.
A respite care centre of five bedrooms, a rehabilitation pool, treatment areas and office spaces will also be built.
Twenty-four consultant rooms of the medical centre, a reception area, chemist, cafe and outdoor terrace will be located on the ground floor.
The first floor will be made of four theatres for day surgery, as well as a recovery ward, sterlising and scrub room, consulting rooms and discharge lounge.
The child care centre with outdoor space will accommodate 15 children aged 0-2, 25 children aged 2-3 and 30 children aged 3-5.
There will be 142 medical centre and 20 child care centre car spaces.
Details of the six stages
Life City will be a "one-stop-shop" for medical and cancer treatment in Berkeley.
Dr Mohamad Rashid's goal for building the medical treatment facility was so patients did not have to travel between hospitals, cancer treatment centres, their GPs and holistic care.
Stage one of the project will be accessed via Warwick Street. It will be a three-storey medical centre with a day surgery, respite care centre and a child care facility.
Stage two will see a medi hostel and medi serviced apartments which will provide ancillary site accommodation for patients, visitors, nurses, medical students and resident medical officers.
There will be 24 hostel rooms and 18 apartments; parking for 56 cars; and construction of the proposed Nolan Street access road.
The main stage is a hi-tech holistic medical hospital made up of 320 beds. It will be a tertiary, referral, inpatient cancer and medical facility.
There will be oncology, holistic, medical, rehabilitation, dementia and psychiatric wings. Parking will be provided for 260 cars and six ambulances.
Self-care seniors housing will be built in stage four. There will be 60 one, two and three bedroom apartments for independent living with parking for 60 cars.
Stage five is a residential care facility and hostel of 139 beds to cater for dementia care, high care and low care; as well as 23 car parking spaces.
The final stage will be a holistic health care centre to accommodate yoga, reiki, laughter therapy, meditation, auras, pranic healing; along with parking for 19 cars.
The original proposal, before it was approved by the state government, was for a $383 million holistic development to be built over eight stages.