‘Turn the turf’ marks the beginning of landmark work at Marion
On Friday 25 July 2025, a ‘turn the turf’ ceremony was held at the Resthaven Marion campus at Finniss Street, Marion, to officially mark the beginning of Stage One of the $100M site redevelopment.
This large-scale redevelopment will meet the community’s needs across the entire continuum of aged care services, with Stage One being the construction of the Resthaven Marion Community Wellness Centre.
This will be a highly sustainable, vibrant hub for the community that will include space for large group activities, gym and group exercise classes, day respite, and 12 consulting rooms for services ranging from GP, podiatry, massage, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy.
‘Creating better ways to support older people to maintain their optimal health is a passion and focus for Resthaven,’ says Resthaven CEO Darren Birbeck.
‘We want to help people stay living in their own homes for as long as they want and are able to, as well as invigorate them and help them work towards their personal goals. The Resthaven Marion Community Wellness Centre will offer great opportunities to facilitate this.’
Rain wasn’t going to stop the celebration, with the ‘first sod’ turned by Resthaven Board President, Mark Porter, accompanied by Resthaven Marion Community Services Manager, Grant Edwards, and Resthaven Marion Residential Services Manager, Leanne Spencer.
The sod turning was also attended by Darren Birbeck (CEO) and the Executive Management team, Board Members Rev Dr Graham Vawser and Jon Clarke, and representatives from Brown Falconer Architects, including Mario Dreosti (Director) and Caroline Cummins (Principal).
Peter Stretton, Chairman of the Marion Historic Village, and members of the Community Consultation Group, who were integral in informing the redevelopment process from a consumer perspective, were also present.
Construction at the site is expected to start in late August 2025. Resthaven Marion Community Services and Resthaven Community Respite Services administration and staff will move into the centre once the building is completed, around September 2026.
The building will target a minimum 5-Star Green Star rating, with a focus on occupant and community wellbeing through an energy and resource-efficient high-quality indoor environment. The building will be carbon neutral in operations, with a solar array installed and battery backup on site.
A full history of the Resthaven Marion and Resthaven Marion Community Services sites, beginning with the donation of land in 1970, is available to read on Resthaven’s new history website.