Baptistcare awarded Rockingham seniors' project

The City of Rockingham has chosen Baptistcare to undertake a precinct redevelopment project that will expand the facilities and services available to local seniors.

Announced early October 2017, the Challenger Precinct Redevelopment Project will provide contemporary aged care, retirement living and community housing accommodation.

City of Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels said a thorough assessment of submissions took place before the Baptistcare was chosen for the project.

“They share the city’s vision of a contemporary, age-in-place facility where residents can access onsite service delivery,” he said.

“The number of seniors in the City of Rockingham is anticipated to almost double over the next 20 years, so it’s vital that we start implementing a plan now to meet the accommodation and care needs of this growing segment of our population.”

Baptistcare will start operations with a project scoping and feasibility process, seeking community consultation and assessing options.

Baptistcare chief executive Russell Bricknell said the project was about meeting future needs of residents and developing design and construction solutions to put Rockingham at the forefront of contemporary accommodation for seniors.

“We intend to take the time necessary to properly plan and engage with local representatives and residents,” he said.

Baptistcare will be working with a range of consultants, including architects Silver Thomas Hanley and Thomas Adsett.

“We are really excited about the opportunity to create a new benchmark for seniors’ accommodation in Western Australia which could involve creating assisted living and aged care apartments along with independent retirement living apartments located around a central activity hub with access to support services and in-home care or residential care if needed,” Mr Bricknell said.

“We also want to look at options to integrate affordable seniors housing; the focus will be on creating choice, diversity and meeting contemporary lifestyle needs.”

The construction is set to commence in the next few years, according to Mr Bricknell, and will take approximately 10 years to complete.