Northern Beaches roundup: Manly Hospital and Q Station

There’s a lot happening right now for a couple of iconic Northern Beaches landmarks. The Manly Hospital is undergoing redevelopment planning and is expected to become a major Healthcare precinct. In addition, the impressive and historical Q Station is up for sale with the hope of it remaining a major tourism precinct.

Q Station: the future

The iconic Q Station is once again up for sale. The property, currently owned by The Mawland Group, is run as a tourist venue with accommodation and eateries. The historical buildings have also been used extensively as a filming venue and appeared in movies such as The Great Gatsby and Hacksaw Ridge.

It’s expected that the property will be sold to a major hotel group to continue its use as an interesting and historical venue for tourism. We hope that the new operator will help to preserve some of Manly’s history for current and future generations.

History of Q Station Manly

Q Station is situated on prime real estate at North Head. Established back in 1835, the facility was used as a quarantine station for victims of pandemics, natural disasters and other historical misadventures until 1984. 

The lovely old buildings included a hospital, isolation quarters and accommodation wings. In the tranquil grounds of Q station that overlook the calm waters of Quarantine Bay, there are also cemeteries where around 600 people were buried.

Returned WW1 soldiers infected with tuberculosis and venereal diseases also ended up at Q Station. Plus, the Q was the major quarantine station for people who had contracted the Spanish Flu.

In the 1970s, Vietnamese orphans were accommodated at Q Station and the facility became a refuge for women and children evacuated from Darwin after the devastating Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

Currently, Q Station, which occupies 30 hectares of land fronting Sydney Harbour, is a hospitality venue with over 105 hotel rooms, There are also many eateries and expansive grounds where events such as weddings are held.

Manly Hospital site redevelopment

After the closure of Manly Hospital in 2018, the NSW Government stated that a hospice for young adults would be built on part of the site. This was to be the first in Australia.

The government has now asked for assistance from the private sector and is looking for a development partner. Although the site will still be government-owned, the selected developer would have responsibility to manage the precinct and would have a leasehold interest.

The development, to be known as the Manly Health and Wellbeing Precinct, will certainly be health related and could include various health and wellness areas as well as related food and drink venues and open community spaces. 

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) is currently asking for expressions of interest from developers who want to take on the project. Once the DPIE has short-listed the tenders, they will ask for detailed proposals and allow, we expect, for community consultation. 

It will be exciting to see how these redevelopments progress and this can only mean more positive experiences and interest in Northern Beaches real estate for both Manly residents and visitors alike.

History of Manly Hospital 

The original Manly Cottage Hospital was built in 1896. Plans for the building of the hospital began in 1890 during a public meeting at which time a committee was formed in order to raise the funds to build the hospital. Only 140 pounds were raised in the first year; it took another six years to raise the required funds to purchase a block of land on the corner of Quinton Road and Raglan Street, with the NSW Government matching the amount raised by local residents.

By the late 1920s, it was decided that the area needed a larger hospital that was better equipped and the current Manly Hospital was built on Eastern Hill.

Manly Hospital as we knew it was eventually closed in 2018; however, the State Government had determined that the Eastern Hill site would always be used for health and environmental purposes and this was locked in with the relevant zoning in 2014.

Need more Northern Beaches information?

To find out more about these developments and how they might affect the sale or rental of your property, please give the JDH team a call.

Image: Q Station
Source: Accor Live Limitless | www.all.accor.com/hotel/8773/

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