Bupa Villages and Aged Care has announced a $17 million redevelopment of Te Puke Care Home.

Bupa Te Puke will soon see construction crews and machinery on site as it undergoes a transformation.

Bupa’s property director Richard Stephenson said the investment in Bupa Te Puke strengthens its presence in the community and will provide residents with a modern and comfortable home that matches the standard of care delivered by Bupa’s people.

“We have strong roots in Te Puke and are committed to continue providing care and retirement services to the local community with a $17m investment in the site.

“The redevelopment will modernise the facility, providing a new, higher standard of accommodation not currently available in Te Puke.”

The first phase of the project will focus on a major overhaul of the hospital-level care facility with Bupa planning to deliver 36 new premium care rooms.

The new “swing rooms” will be able to provide rest home and hospital-level care.

This means residents will no longer need to move when their care needs change.

Alongside the care home redevelopment, Bupa will build 11 new villas on the site of the old motel and create an upgraded village common area to enhance the overall experience for residents.

“The new dedicated space for our village community reflects the evolving needs of our residents.”

Te Puke Retirement Village and Care Home general manager Tracey Alderton said she’s excited about the site’s future.

“It is a big project and the end result will be a contemporary village and care home that offers current and new residents a great place to live and be cared for here in the heart of Te Puke.”

Alderton said there will be disruption to residents and her team as work commences on the site, but everyone had taken the news well and the focus is on supporting rest home residents who must move because of the works.

“The current rest home community resides in the old motel, but it was never intended to be an aged-care facility. Due to structural limitations and the age of the building, we’ve made the tough decision to demolish the building and focus all our care offering into one building.

“It’s sad to see the old motel go, but the reality is that while it had performed well up to now, in the long term it’s not of a standard we want for our current and future residents.

“You never like to disrupt the lives of residents or our people, but we believe the new facilities we are building will serve the long-term needs of the local community and region.”

News of Bupa’s plans had got around the local community with some wondering whether the company was shifting sites or moving to Tauranga.

“People have asked us – are you staying in Te Puke? The answer is resoundingly yes. We love it here, the local community is great and there is strong demand for aged care services here and across the region,” said Alderton.