The old hospital site is being cleared to make way for the creation of the new Blue Haven Aged Care Centre of Excellence.

Kiama council general manager Michael Forsyth said it was pleasing to have a Wollongong-based company prepare the site for construction of the new Aged Care Centre of Excellence.

“Affective will soon be on-site to begin work clearing the old buildings and preparing the site for the construction phase by conducting initial earthworks,” he said. “The old Kiama Hospital buildings will be removed, except for Barroul House, which will be retained and refurbished as a community centre within the new complex.”

Mr Forsyth said the early works program is expected to last for several months, prior to the commencement of construction.

“We are currently working on the detailed design of the redevelopment, so we can hand over the designs to the construction firm later this year. We expect to appoint the successful construction tenderer in coming months.”

The residential aged care facility and eight independent living units are expected to be completed by the end of 2018 with the remaining 51 independent living units finished by mid-2019. 

The Kiama Hospital Redevelopment project, which includes the construction of the Blue Haven Aged Care Centre of Excellence, received $8 million in funding under the state government’s Restart NSW Illawarra Infrastructure Fund.

The $3.6 million Kiama Integrated Primary and Community Health Centre, part of the Kiama Hospital Redevelopment project was launched this month.