A topping out ceremony on has been held at Hertfordshire County Council’s Furzewood Lodge care home in South Oxhey, Hertfordshire.
Attendees at the event included representatives from the county council, main contractor Kori Construction, and local councillors.
Furzewood Lodge – due to open in the spring – will feature 75 bedrooms. Residents will have direct access to the garden space from every floor, along with external courtyards, communal spaces, and a café.
The multi-million pound, three-storey care home has been designed by RDT Architects, with sustainability at its heart. It is set to achieve a high standard of environment accreditation (BREEAM ‘very good’), will be powered solely by electricity, and will have solar panels installed on the roof.
Kori Construction is also on course to deliver around £4.5m of economic and social value as part of the project, including the creation of four new jobs, delivering 59 hours of employability support to young people, providing 23 weeks of experience for apprentices, implementing a green travel plan that has saved nearly 33,000 miles in car journeys, and reusing nearly 16,000 tonnes of materials on site, resulting in 98 per cent of waste being diverted from landfill.
Tony Kingsbury, executive member, adult care, health & wellbeing at Hertfordshire County Council said: “This new home will enable us to provide nursing and dementia care to people with high frailty in their own community. This new development, along with a proposed new Day Service and extra care housing locally, demonstrates how we’re investing here and making sure that older people can access the support they need to remain connected within their local community, and live as independently as possible.”
Elaine Kendall, head of sustainability and communications at Kori Construction, commented: “We’re very proud of this development because not only will it provide fantastic later life care in a relaxed and tranquil setting for residents, it has also enabled us to make a real difference in some of the communities surrounding the scheme.
“As a business, Kori Construction truly believes projects of this nature can be a force for good, not just for the end users, but on a far wider scale.
“We bring this approach to all the developments we’re involved in and South Oxhey is certainly no exception. Reaching the topping out ceremony is a fantastic milestone in the build process, and we’re delighted to see the development move closer towards completion.”
