A planned expansion by St John of God Hospital means it needs to reclaim its Mair Street boiler house, currently the home of FECRI.

St John of God Hospital chief executive officer Michael Krieg said the move would occur sometime after next July, though no definite date is known yet.

“It is a ‘when, not if’ scenario but we have told them as early as we could,” Mr Krieg said.

“We need more space for patient care across the entire site.”

He said FECRI had been using the boiler house rent-free for the past 10 years but the hospital now needed it for increased energy production as it expands to meet increasing demand.

FECRI acting board chairman David Fisken said they had no confirmed details yet as to what the changes would be or when they would occur.

“The board is reviewing a number of options and will be entering into discussions with the hospital with respect to those options in due course,” Mr Fisken said.

“We will keep our donors and supporters informed as we progress these.

“Although there will be some challenges to negotiate, we will look to this as an opportunity to cement our future as a leading cancer research facility.

“In the meantime, we will continue with our primary mission of advancing the understanding and treatment of cancer through internationally recognised research.”

Mr Fisken said they had enjoyed a strong partnership with St John of God Hospital, during which they had “grown enormously”.

“We are extremely grateful for the extraordinary community support that has allowed our work to continue.

“We acknowledge that initially there will be many individuals and community partners who will share our disappointment at this, but Professor George Kannourakis and the board invite all supporters to recognise this situation as an opportunity for the future growth of the institute.”

fiona.henderson@fairfaxmedia.com.au.