The centre will have consulting rooms to accommodate four doctors simultaneously plus facilities for ancillary medical services including podiatry and physio specialists.

The man behind the project is Bob Kalaf, the pharmacist and former Cooranbong Chamber of Commerce president.

Mr Kalaf built Cooranbong Shopping Centre in 1988 and co-founded Morisset's Gateway Industrial Park in the 1990s.

"Morisset has a big medical centre, Dora Creek has a good medical centre, and it's about time Cooranbong had one of its own, especially as Cooranbong probably has more aged residents than the other districts," Mr Kalaf told the Lakes Mail on Monday.

The new centre will be built on the prime 2000-square-metre site on which the iconic and internationally known Elephant Shop stands.

A development application for the project was lodged last week with Lake Macquarie City Council.

"There is room enough on the site for both the medical centre and the Elephant Shop so, at this stage, there is no intention of Cooranbong losing its Elephant Shop," Mr Kalaf said.

The medical centre will be serviced by the adjacent pharmacy, which was also built and operated by Mr Kalaf.

"The medical centre site is already vacant and all things being well we would hope to have it open within 12 months," Mr Kalaf said.