Project breaks ground
Construction of new health precinct starts
AWARD-WINNING Toowoomba builder Valdal Projects has broken ground on a home-grown commercial project in the heart of East Toowoomba’s health precinct.
The project - the brainchild of Allied Health Partners directors Duane Parkinson and Matthew Sander - will see a new five-tenancy allied health centre constructed at 8 Scott St, near St Vincent’s Private Hospital, with an expected completion date of April 2019.
For Mr Parkinson, who runs Parkinson Chiropractic and Musculoskeletal Centre, the facility will allow him to fulfil his vision of providing chiropractic care in a multi-disciplinary environment.
But watching the Valdal Projects team get to work on the site was also a bitter-sweet moment for Mr Parkinson, who will eventually have to move out of his current practice at 69 Campbell St, which has been in continuous use since 1947.
His father took over the running of the practice in 1972, and Mr Parkinson followed in his footsteps.
“There will be mixed emotions there because there’s such a depth of history and a long family connection to the building,” Mr Parkinson explained.
“My father took over there in 1972 and I grew up in that clinic, really, but the future is coming and I can’t do there what my vision is for here.
“Research has for a long time now shown us that best patient outcomes are achieved in a multi-discipline environment where each skillset brings to the party what they can.
“Being able to work in a collegiate environment where you can cross-refer and treat patients in that situation is going to be wonderful.”
The allied health centre will feature five tenancies and 15 rooms in total, as well as large open spaces for conferences, meetings, exercise areas and more.
Valdal Projects owner and director Stuart Valdal said he and his team were “very excited” about the project.
“It’s a very modern, contemporary building. It doesn’t look too commercial and it’ll fit in really well,” Mr Valdal said.
“We do a lot of custom builds and renos, but we also do minor commercial buildings like childcare centres and that sort of stuff.
“This is a really good fit - the materials that we’re using on this build are very similar to what we’d be using on a million dollar home.”