Construction of The Hawthorndale Care Village project in Invercargill is set to begin in October 2022. 

Hawthorndale Care Village Charitable Trust Working Group Member Paddy O’Brien said detailed design work was being completed and site work would get underway in early October on the $35 million project.

“We’re delighted to be able to announce that construction is set to begin — this marks another massive milestone for the project, which will be an evolutionary step forward for aged care in New Zealand.”

A blessing of the Tay St site was performed today (Wednesday, Aug 31). 

O’Brien said civil work on the Tay St site will take about six months to complete.

The village, expected to open in early 2025, is an aged care facility inspired by the world-leading Dutch dementia village, De Hogeweyk. It will follow a social rather than a traditional institutional model of care, allowing residents to live as normal a life as possible, exercising choice over their daily lives.

Construction project manager Nick Hamlin, of Maxis Projects, said they would be holding a public meeting to invite local builders and supporting tradespeople to hear more about the project and to register their interest.

“The contracts will be split into civil, residential, and commercial construction, and this is an exciting opportunity for multiple local contractors,” he said.

The Hawthorndale project is expected to generate 300 jobs during its construction phase and once open create 11 new jobs and retain 87 jobs from the Calvary Hospital transition.

Calvary Hospital manager Margaret Brown said she was thrilled that all the hard work was paying off.

“The village will be an asset to our community. It is an innovative approach to aged care and will have far greater outcomes for older people, especially people with dementia,” she said. 

For people wishing to donate and support The Hawthorndale Care Village please visit: www.thehawthorndale.co.nz