Box Hill: McCall Community Hub for people with intellectual disabilities gets green light

A hub for people with disabilities will be redeveloped as part of a ‘fight for greater inclusivity and equity’. See the plans here.

An “inclusive and well being-focused” centre for people with disabilities and the wider community has won approval to be redeveloped into a $35m “beacon” at Box Hill.

Hills Shire Council has endorsed a development application for the McCall Community Hub after international practice Plus Architecture made adjustments to the design that aims to reduce the stigma linked to people with intellectual disabilities by integrating services for all the public.

Perched atop a hill overlooking the burgeoning suburb, the revamped hub will offer “an improved and more inclusive experience for people of all abilities”.

The project is an upgrade from the 1970s buildings, which stand near the office inside a historic homestead that is more than 200 years old.

New features on the 47,438sq m sloped site include a cafe, multipurpose rooms for community use, a swimming pool accommodating up to 1500 children a week for swimming school and a sensory garden.

Work on the redeveloped McCall Community Hub is slated to begin in May.

McCall chief executive Belinda Colombrita said health services including physiotherapy, speech and occupational therapy, would also be available to the wider community.

“We strongly believe that this is going to provide a community with a positive social impact,’’ she said.

She said the revamp would break down barriers by integrating features for everybody.

“This is going to be inclusive, it is a facility that is for everybody.

“The McCall Community Hub is part of our fight for greater inclusivity and equity.

“It aims to bring the community together and celebrate a sense of place.’’

Some services such as the cafe will be open to the wider community.

McCall assists 300 people with disabilities, but once the “10-year vision” is completed, that number is expected to serve 1000 participants.

More than 1.3 million people have a disability in NSW.

Plus Architecture principal Gabriel Duque said the updated design would be a “community beacon” and deliver a holistic design.

“The backbone of the updated DA is about creating a new way forward of providing care for people with special needs, through better integration with the local community and finding ways to overcome stigma through design,” Mr Duque said.

New interiors will be fitted out with purpose-built features that make it easier for visitors to navigate such as gently curved walls and sensitive lighting to achieve the “ultimate goal” of supporting independent movement.

Construction on the site is due to begin in May and be completed by October next year.