The integrated development will bring retirement living, community care, GPs, other primary health care services, residential care, and Calvary Bethlehem’s existing specialist care services together in one location.

Calvary Bethlehem’s General Manager and Medical Director Dr Jane Fischer said the new precinct heralds an important step forward in integrated care delivery in Australia.

“The precinct will give people a range of options for living and ageing well in their own community,” Dr Fischer said. “Calvary will be there to support their choices and lend our expertise and experience to help them as they age or as their care needs change.”

The development will include 69 independent living units; an 83-bed residential care facility; specialist services for palliative patients and people with progressive neurological conditions; GP, allied health and related services; and community care services. There will also be a library, business centre, gymnasium and pool; retail space and cafes.

Experienced Melbourne-based construction firm Icon is delivering the project. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2022 and will create about 300 jobs.

The precinct is being built on the site of the former Calvary Bethlehem hospital on Kooyong Road. Construction began late last year. Work to pour the concrete slab and erect precast concrete walls and columns for the lower basement car park is nearing completion. The project’s two tower cranes have also arrived on site.

Dr Fischer said it was an important project for Calvary Bethlehem as well as the Caulfield and surrounding communities.

Calvary Bethlehem has been a part of the Caulfield community for nearly 80 years and has a proud history of caring for families at various stages in their lives. In recent decades, it has provided specialist services for people needing palliative care, and care and support for Victorians living with progressive neurological conditions, such as Motor Neurone Disease and Huntington’s Disease.

“This is the next step in our journey. The precinct will help to meet the changing health and care needs of older people in the local and wider community, and also better meet the needs of our patients and their families,” Dr Fischer said.

People can view progress on the site via a series of viewing windows in the hoarding along Kooyong Road, and can stay up to date on the development at www.calvarybethlehemdevelopment.org.au.