In another coup for CEO Rachel Argaman, the aged care provider is the second to see a development application approved under the NSW Department of Planning and Environment's State Significant Development Application (SSDA) fast-tracked pathway to approval process. 

The pathway opened in November 2021 and the first document for Opal HealthCare's proposal in Narwee, 18km south of Sydney's CBD, the Environmental Impact Statement, was prepared by Ethos Urban in December 2022. The first meeting with the Government Architect of NSW was in August 2022. 

"Enable residents to live with dignity, purpose and belonging"

Narwee Parklands Care Community, which is to be built on a site which used to be a BUPA aged care home, will be a residential care facility (RCF) over 7,039sqm gross floor area, including:  

• 165 beds, all with ensuites within a single three-storey building; 

• Communal facilities including kitchens, dining rooms, lounge rooms, activity rooms, café, outdoor BBQ area, exercise areas, children’s play area, water features, and a dedicated memory care neighbourhood for people living with dementia;

• 30 spaces of basement car parking and an ambulance bay;

The project will be delivered in collaboration with Ethos Urban on behalf of Opal HealthCare and will be designed by architect GroupGSA, owned by Lisa-Maree Carrigan.

“We are delighted that Narwee Parklands Care Community has been approved as one of the first NSW Senior Housing Developments under the new State Significant Development Application (SSDA) pathway," an Opal HealthCare spokesperson told The Weekly SOURCE.

“A beautiful Care Community which will include vibrant gardens and recreational areas, Narwee Parklands is designed with connecting people at its heart - specifically to meet the needs and personal choices of people as they age."

The operator, which is jointly owned by global investment manager AMP Capital and Singaporean investment company G. K. Goh Holdings, is Australia's largest residential aged care operator.

It opened the 148-bed Marsden Park Care Community, 50km northwest of Sydney's CBD, last month, bringing to 100 the number of care communities Opal HealthCare operates.