World-first building links docs, childcare
A COLOURFUL world-first development that combines medical services and childcare will be the first post-Commonwealth Games project built at the Gold Coast’s Health and Knowledge Precinct.
The eight-storey Centre of Growth is an initiative of Kool Kids founder Bruce Coulson, whose family is funding the multimillion-dollar project.
He has contracted to buy a 2000sq m block between the Gold Coast University Hospital and Gold Coast Private Hospital and the athletes village, where the Jenga block inspired building will take shape from 2019.
Of the 200 long day care places it will create, 40 per cent will be allocated to children with special needs.
Five storeys of space will be available for paediatric medical specialists, eliminating the need for parents to ferry children all over the city and beyond to regular appointments.
Mr Coulson has signed a memorandum of understanding with Gold Coast Health, Griffith University, the council and the precinct’s project office to work together on the development.
“Children will be able to easily access doctors and specialists within the comfort and familiarity of their daycare centre,” he said.
“As well as the long day care service and medical facilities, we are looking to have medical research space with a particular focus on child development, and an Early Years training college.
“We want to collaborate with Griffith University and the hospitals to give students real-life training opportunities and to advance globally significant research into bestpractice child development.”
Mr Coulson expects the project will create about 300 jobs in childcare, medicine, education and allied health and they intend it to be a provider under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The project has the support of Gold Coast Hospital and Health chairman Ian Langdon, who said it had the potential to change the lives of families of special needs kids. Mr Langdon witnessed his own family’s challenges raising his grandson Ky, now 17, who has autism.
“It made me realise how little attention the community pays to the difficulties of parents in catering for the needs of these children from an early age,” he said.
“At the moment, parents of these children have to go here, there and everywhere for appointments.”