Aged CareChris ThomsonMon 04 May 26
WA Quadriplegic Centre Redevelopment Decided
Disability and elders support group Alinea Inc has won unanimous approval to redevelop its quadriplegic centre at Shenton Park in Perth’s affluent western suburbs.
The group will transform its asset into two apartment buildings for over-55s.
Located at 4-6 Orton Road, about 5km west of the Perth CBD, Alinea, formerly known as the Spine and Limb Foundation, can now redevelop its adjacent quadriplegic centre property at 2 Orton Road into two apartment buildings and associated structures.
Western Australia’s inner metro development assessment panel unanimously approved the project that panel chair Clayton Higham said was a “very good proposal”.
“The buildings are well designed and provide a good interface with the street,” he said.
“We are in a desperate situation for accommodation in this state at the moment and I think this will make a great contribution towards the accommodation situation.”
If built as now approved, the project will comprise a five-storey building with 26 apartments and a site management office, a three-storey building with 20 apartments and a single-storey club house with a functions area, gym, art studio and spa.
Alinea, a registered charity, envisages that the $40-million project will have 65 car bays for residents, 10 for staff and 10 for visitors.
The lifestyle village is slated to include a 178sq m al fresco dining area, 41sq m art studio, 56sq m loungeroom, 159sq m functions room, 19sq m physiotherapy and health area and 106sq m gym spa and sauna area.
Designed by Perth-based SPH Architecture and Interiors for a 0.9ha portion of Alinea’s 1.9ha block, the 46-apartment project is the first of four planned stages.
The centre has operated at the site since the 1960s, providing rehabilitative care and permanent accommodation to people living with quadriplegia and other serious spinal injuries.
After changes to WA government patient care practices, including an emphasis on at-home care, the centre has just 11 residents, down from 70 residents a decade ago.
Alinea plans to organise a move for the remaining residents to a building being developed next door by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Western Australia.
The organisation proposes to own and operate the village. It also operates the Osboine and Koh-I-Noor aged-care facilities at nearby Wembley, and the Camelia Court retirement village and Ritcher Lodge aged-care facilities in the eastern Perth suburb of Bayswater.
