The first sod has been turned on the $103 million Blue Haven Bonaira aged care centre on Friday.
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Richard Crookes Construction will build the 59 independent living units that comprise Blue Haven Bonaira, as well as Barroul Care Home which will accommodate 134 residents on the site of the old Kiama Hospital.
The complex, formerly known as the Kiama Aged Care Centre of Excellence, is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
Richard Crookes Constructions’ general manager of aged care and retirement living Martin Patience, said the likes of Blue Haven Bonaira were “the future of aged care and retirement living in Australia”.
“It’s a very well designed and integrated project,” he said.
“People are looking for a place to live where they know they can age in place, and it’s very important that people who go into the independent living units know there’s help if they need it, they can press a button and there’s staff in the nursing home who can cater to their needs.
“As their needs become greater, they can move from independent living into the nursing home.”
Mr Patience said some of the basalt located at the site would be reused elsewhere in Kiama.
“This is a large site and we have quite a large excavation to do on the north east side of the site, we have to take out 6000 cubic metres of basalt rock, which is very hard, that’s where the basement underneath the independent living units will go,” he said.
“Behind Barroul House, which will be refurbished and become part of the community centre and the main entrance of the building, will be like a little town centre with a clock face.”
A delighted Mayor Mark Honey was onsite to assist turning the first sod.
“By the end of next year, the Kiama community will have a new world-class aged care facility – Blue Haven Bonaira,” he said.
“It’s a significant undertaking for council, investing nearly $80 million into Blue Haven Bonaira.
“When people work together in our community, good things happen and Blue Haven Bonaira is a very good thing for our community.”
The NSW government has provided $18 million, including $8 million through the Restart NSW Illawarra Infrastructure Fund, while the Australian Government has provided $2.39 million through its Community Development Grants program.
Kiama MP Gareth Ward said the project demonstrated council’s vision for quality services in the community.
“Council didn’t wait for somebody else to come along and deliver them,” he said.
“You got on and said ‘we’re going to take a bit of a risk here’, and there were many risky elements of this project, both politically and financially, but you took hold of it and gave it a real go.
“The fact we are breaking the ground today is evidence if all of that hard work, from Sandra McCarthy’s vision through to all the hard work of the staff.
“As our community has aged, this is certainly something Kiama needed.”
The Independent Living Units at Blue Haven Bonaira will be allocated by ballot, the same manner used to allocate units at Blue Haven Terralong.
Residents from the existing Blue Haven Care Home in Havilah Place, will be relocated to Barroul Care Home.
Kiama Council is examining options for the Havilah Place site once it is vacant.
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