Warrina Innisfail unveils new $20m 60-bed facility

A small Far Northern town could become a retirement hotspot after the local aged care facility received its most significant revamp in two decades.

A SMALL Far Northern town could become a retirement hotspot after the local aged care facility received its most significant revamp in more than 20 years.

Warrina Innisfail – a multi-service aged care and independent retirement facility recently completed $20 million worth of works to establish a new 60-bed wing for retirees.

The 160-bed facility which features a nursing home, a special care unit and independent living units has added a touch of “affordable luxury” with its new building.

Vice-president Kevin Bliss, who has been on the board for 13 years, said the upgrade was 10 years in the making, completed without government handouts and the largest since 1996.

“We’ve done continuous maintenance, but we’d never spent $20 million until now,” he said.

“The new building caters for everyone with four separate sections, they’re tastefully done.

“Never have we had units were couples can really retire gracefully, and these are certainly a higher class. But they’re still affordable, not too much more than our older buildings because we don’t have a high socio-economic population here in Innisfail, we do need to cater for pensioners.”

He said an extra effort had made to ensure couples would enjoy their retirement together.

“The eastern end of the building is designed for married couples who need constant care to continue living together.

“The standout features include independent lounge rooms, independent kitchen and a new basement level parking.

“We were long overdue for a revamp and we’re hoping in the next 20 years can we put up another identical building.”

The completion of the three-level building comes as Cassowary Coast Mayor Mark Nolan recently revealed his ambition of approving more high-rise residential complexes in the region following a resolution to make a new planning scheme.

Cr Nolan said had asked for the capacity “to go up” in the scheme, which is yet to be revealed.

Originally published as Warrina Innisfail unveils new $20m 60-bed facility