Aged care home’s $29M expansion one step closer

Melbourne’s Manningham council has proposed 28 changes to Opal HealthCare’s plans to double the capacity of its Templestowe Grove Care Community.

The Council has proposed screening for ground-floor windows, the removal of two beds, and additional plantings, among the changes.

The $28.8 million expansion in Templestowe, a Melbourne suburb 16km northeast of the CBD, includes a three-storey, 79-bed extension (after the removal of two beds), taking total capacity to 160 beds. The project also features underground parking, balconies, a café, health clinic, back-of-house services, reception area, and town centre.

Rooms are arranged according to the small household model, with 24 beds in each household. The project’s architects are Clarke Hopkins Clarke.

Opal HealthCare is Australia’s largest residential aged care operator, with 144 residential care communities. Its facilities are located in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia and accommodate 13,000 aged care residents.

With 620 aged care beds under development, this latest development shows the operator is securing its future development pipeline.

Opal HealthCare is 50% owned by Singapore-based investment firm G.K. Goh Holdings, with 50% acquired by Sydney equity investors, Pacific Equity Partners, last year.