Over 80 residents moved into the 133-bed aged care home at Ashfield which was already home to a 230-unit retirement village, part of a partnership Opal made with Stockland in 2014 to offer retirement villages and aged care on one site.

When complete, Stockland’s Cardinal Freeman village will feature 240 new apartments across seven buildings, plus a village green, clubhouse and other amenities.

The care facility will also be the model going forward for Opal, with Managing Director Gary Barnier saying it will be used as an “innovation hub” for their other 71 homes.

It will feature a state-of-the-art virtual reality program specific to aged care, music therapy program and a dedicated memory support unit.

“The idea around ‘continuum of care’ is to give people the chance to live in their community for as long as they choose. Aged care should not been seen as a one way street,” he said.