Plans for a new integrated medical centre at a Cardrona Valley Rd site at Wanaka are nearing completion, with a sale and purchase agreement under negotiation.
Road and infrastructure services at the site have been laid down by landowners Peter and Dee Gordon and resource consent to subdivide a 1ha parcel of freehold land was obtained about two months ago.
Wanaka Health Group spokesman Dr Andrew McLeod said a meeting with project managers to review a draft sale and purchase agreement for the 1ha lot had been held.
Auckland company Peak Consulting, which specialises in developing medical centres, has been working on designs for the proposed complex.
Dr McLeod said the Wanaka Health Group complex would bring existing services from the Wanaka Medical Centre, Aspiring Medical Centre, and Wanaka Physiotherapy under the one roof.
The complex includes provisions for other specialist medical services, such as radiology, a pharmacy, and teaching facilities in conjunction with the University of Otago Medical School, he said.
The group was looking at prices from construction companies to determine affordability, Dr McLeod said.
Mr Gordon said "good progress" was being made on the planned Pembroke Retirement Village, but he did not want to discuss any sale and agreement negotiations regarding the Wanaka Health Group "until we have got something signed".
The medical centre and retirement village were originally envisaged as operating under the same title when land use consent was granted by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, last year.
Consent to subdivide the 1ha parcel of land from the retirement village site meant the freehold land for a medical centre would allow the health practitioners involved to invest in their own premises.
Dr McLeod said a private venture into building a medical centre "was not terribly common" and the practitioners involved wanted to ensure the complex was future-proof.
However, the current tight financial market would play a part in developing the project.
"[Given some of the] strangleholds on finance, we're building as much as we can and will look to add on extra capacity to meet future demands."
The current rate of growth in the Upper Clutha district had tested the capacity of Wanaka's existing medical centres and demands on health services would continue to increase.
The Wanaka Health Group hoped to have a medical centre operating by 2010, Dr McLeod said.
