Scalabrini Drummoyne to close its doors

The operators of an aged care facility in Drummoyne have announced it will close in only a few months, as worried family members scramble for detals about where their loved ones will go.

• $116m hotel for Sydney CBD
• ‘Smoking gun’: satellite images key to new compensation push

“Traumatised” residents at a Drummoyne aged care facility have three months to move out, after its operator revealed it was set to close the site.

Scalabrini Drummoyne, a 90-bed facility overlooking the Parramatta River near Fern Bay, is set to shut its doors in September - 20 years since it opened on Lyons Rd.

In a post on social media, a spokesperson said the decision came after “all possible options” were considered to enhance and future-proof the 60-year-old buildings.

The Scalabrini Retirement Village in Drummoyne.

“(I)t has faithfully delivered a wonderful service experience with the support of the residents, families, staff, Sisters, volunteers and the local community,” the post states.

“However, over time our buildings and public spaces degrade and the designs which were at one time acceptable are now not fit for purpose.”

The post said Scalabrini would seek to relocate Lyons Rd residents in its five other facilities — including the nearby Village Drummoyne, and others in Chipping Norton, Austral, Bexley and Allambie Heights — and redeploy as many Drummoyne staff “as possible” at other centres.

Residents will be gradually moved out from August.

Scalabrini Drummoyne closure post on Facebook.

A bombshell email was sent out to family members last Thursday informing them the facility would close, declaring there were “no specific plans for rebuilding on the site at this stage”.

But a furious Pam Walker believed the closure was motivated by the opportunity to sell off prime land with “beautiful harbourside views”.

Ms Walker, whose father resides at Scalabrini, said some of its patrons were more than 100 years old, while others had lived there for a decade.

“Everyone’s got three months to get out,” she said. “Staff are traumatised, residents are traumatised.

“I can see why they want to sell it, they’ll make a lot more out of it selling it as apartments.”

Ms Walker claimed staff members had no prior knowledge of the plan to shut the facility.

Families have been invited to three meetings at the facility at 2pm and 6pm today, and 6pm on Wednesday.

Scalabrini recently opened its new “state-of-the-art” Drummoyne centre - dubbed The Village - on Mary St.