Caboolture’s Fernhill Retirement Living and Residential Aged Care, located at 81-103 King Street, is all set to begin its $48 million, stage one upgrade, beginning mid this year.
With three stages scheduled to minimise inconvenience for existing residents, stage one will involve construction of a new, 4.5 floor Residential Care Building, comprising of 36 beds clustered into 9-bed neighbourhoods and 18-bed communities on either side of a common servery and two intimate dining rooms – all of which is expected to be completed by January 2020. Stage two will comprise of new Supported Living Apartments, and stage three will involve constructing a number of medium-rise buildings of Independent Living Apartments.
With all three stages being developed on the current Fernhill site, this new, state-of-the-art, multi-storey aged care home will provide for at least 162 residents who will benefit from innovative accommodation and associated services that will provide further choices for elderly Australians seeking to maintain their independence, health and wellbeing for longer.
Bolton-Clarke, formerly known as RSL Care and RDNS, and the owners and developers of Caboolture’s Fernhill, say that their development will incorporate varying configurations of standard, upgraded and premium rooms and apartments, and a modernised dementia care environment, allowing for a generous staff-to-resident ratio.
With the site masterplan based around an urban streetscape comprising of dedicated footpaths and natural meeting points to facilitate social interactions and conversations, the fully landscaped site and retail precinct will incorporate community gardens, cafes, outdoor exercise stations, community centres, and underground parking. The new development will also provide for a public plaza incorporating street art as a way of inviting the community in, and the removal of fences will allow for a more open and welcoming space. There will also be the possibility that an adjoining playground proposed in the new development could be used by Caboolture State School students, and a community hall built on the new site may be utilised by neighbouring group, Caboolture Country Women’s Association.
Bolton Clarke’s Property Development General Manager, James Mantis, says, “Our development aims to encourage community engagement, especially with other seniors, community groups, and local schools. We know that loneliness and social isolation are a growing public concern, and that staying connected to a community gives people a sense of purpose and is important to our wellbeing, no matter our age. Our plan at Fernhill is to create as many opportunities as possible for all residents to stay connected with, and keep contributing to, their local community.”
With the Caboolture region having one of the highest populations of older people in Moreton Bay, the demand for at-home support and residential aged care is growing. Moreton Bay’s Division Three Councillor, Adam Hain says, “Retirement living is a very large, evolving industry, and one we support strongly. To have a state-of-the-art facility like this as part of our CBD, with an overall development spend in excess of 100 million dollars, is a big stimulus to our economy. Caboolture has a very good geography to support this industry – easy access to the CBD traders and transit hub, as well as Morayfield South being good flat country located alongside the Morayfield shopping strip, which is the largest in Moreton Bay. We will reap the benefits, not only through the construction period for tradies, but the ongoing staff jobs it will create, as well as the large amount of new residents utilising our CBD.”