South-east Queensland healthcare developer Silverstone Developments has won approval for its life sciences building in one of Brisbane’s busiest hospital precincts.
The Brisbane Advanced Research Centre at 37-41 Butterfield Street at Herston would comprise about 11,700sq m of purpose-built life sciences, research, medical technology, offices and an auditorium in the Royal Brisbane Hospital precinct.
It follows the growing trend to colocation of research, education and healthcare assets in hospital precincts.
Silverstone managing director Troy Daffy said the approval would enable the developer to provide a “state-of-the-art building” that expanded on the hospital precinct’s facilities.
“A priority of Silverstone’s strategy is to increase the availability of high-quality laboratory and biomanufacturing space in strategic locations for life sciences and biotech companies,” Daffy said.
“The Brisbane Advanced Research Centre will have a standard 2884sq m floorplate in this instance. The seven-storey building will feature four levels of laboratory space plus a multi-level auditorium above and complementary retail on ground.
“The facility includes specialist design requirements such as additional plant and services infrastructure, fire systems, industrial loading capacity, hospital-sized lifts and large floor-to-floor heights.”
Daffy said the prime location and direct access to the Herston Health Precinct would be a drawcard for organisations looking to leverage the integrated healthcare precinct nearby.
“Tenants will have an opportunity to realise huge synergies with the RBWH, Queensland’s largest tertiary referral, research and teaching hospital with 955 beds,” he said.
Herston Health Precinct is a global leader in health, innovation, education, research, training and clinical care and is a collaborative community home to more than 30 health facilities, medical research institutes, universities, and organisations.
The precinct also serves as a base for 13,000 clinical and non-clinical staff, scientists, researchers and students.
The Brisbane Advanced Research Centre would include state-of-the-art end-of-trip facilities, a wellness room, ground floor cafe, and 118 carparking bays to enhance the tenant and staff experience.
The “technologically advanced” facilities will be adaptable to cater to the changing demands of breakthrough scientific research in medical technology, life sciences, and educational applications according to Daffy.
The design includes base building engineering solutions that consider the sensitivity and stability requirements of these spaces, such as infrastructure to reduce vibration and smart controls for laboratory isolation.
Silverstone has not set a date for the start of construction, but it has a strong pipeline of work in south-east Queensland and has delivered about $900 million in projects across commercial, residential, retail and healthcare sectors.
