Wellington's Wakefield Hospital seeks tenders for $88m development

Tuesday, 14 August 2018

The new hospital will have base isolation to increase its resilience to an earthquake adding $6 million to the construction costs.

The new owners of Wellington's largest private hospital will seek tenders in late October for the $88 million development.

Vital Healthcare Property Trust chief executive David Carr said the company was in the final stages of design of Wakefield Hospital and had already been in discussions with preferred contractors.

'[By] late October I imagine all the final design will be completed and we will be looking for tenders for the project … and start construction in early 2019.'

The hoped for early 2019 start is a little later than originally planned.

Wakefield Hospital in Newtown, Wellington.

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Vital Healthcare bought Wakefield Hospital in Newtown, Bowen Hospital in Crofton Downs in Wellington and Royston Hospital in Hastings from Acurity Health Group late in 2017.

Carr said Acurity was still the operator of Wakefield and responsible for its fitout.

Vital Healthcare was now determining changes in construction required after its recent decision, part-way through the design process, to change to base isolation foundations after initially choosing standard foundations, he said

Artist's impression of Wakefield following completion of the development

The extra cost of base isolation was about $6m and meant the foundations could move in an earthquake, so services like water pipes needed flexibility to move with the building.

'Once you change the foundation you need to change the way you build everything above it and that's really the final piece of the jigsaw.'

The hospital would be built to a standard that protected the lives of patients and staff in an earthquake, and allowed it to continue to function after an earthquake, he said.

Most of the old hospital would be demolished but four buildings making up the newer central part of the hospital would remain, as would some accommodation villas and a generator room.

The decision on base isolation had 'not materially' delayed the start of construction, Carr said.

'I mean we may have started just pre-Xmas but we now start just after Xmas … so no effective change from my perspective.'

Wakefield would remain open during construction. The new buildings would be built stage by stage on the large 2.2 hectare site with construction expected to be finished in early 2021.

Vital Healthcare was also considering whether it would apply for a 5-Green Star rating for Wakefield.

Green Star is a tool for the design, construction and operation of building projects in a more sustainable and efficient way.

'Certainly we will be using numerous Green Star initiatives,' Carr said.

The cost of Wellington's first Radiation Oncology Centre at Bowen Hospital, in Crofton Downs, has fallen to $4m.

For example there would be high quality glazing systems, bike racks for staff, they would keep waste to a minimum by recycling as much of the old hospital as possible.

He would not comment on the extra cost of construction to a Green Star standard saying it was commercial and private information.

'But, again all of those final decisions and initiatives are in this final phase of design at the moment,' Carr said.

Vital Healthcare updated the development costs for Wakefield and its other hospitals in its recent annual result.

It posted a net profit after tax of $100m for the year to June 2018.

Vital Healthcare has budgeted $88m for Wakefield's development, $13m for the expansion of Royston Hospital and $4m for the first radiation therapy service in Wellington at Bowen Hospital.

It bought Wakefield for $23.7m, Bowen for $44.5m and Royston for $54.2m in December 2017. Its total portfolio of healthcare properties in Australia and New Zealand was valued at $1.73 billion.

Vital Healthcare has similar decisions on base isolation and Green Star ratings to make with its expansion of Royston.

Carr said the trust was behind on those determinations compared to Wakefield.

Construction at Royston would start in 2019 but there was no firm date for that yet.

The cost of the Radiation Oncology Centre at Bowen Hospital had fallen to $4m from $9m because existing facilities at Bowen would be used to support the new service, rather than building new ones.

Construction had started on building two radiation oncology bunkers and the project would be completed by January 2019.