Rosewood Care Group’s Cleaver Street facility provides specialist, premium care for older adults who need assistance managing their everyday duties. With growing demand and its inner city location, Rosewood Care Group had a vision to revitalise the site by demolishing the existing 52 resident facility and constructing a multi-storey development that integrated accommodation for 152 residents, a publicly accessible café, offices, and a pharmacy/medical centre. Central to the redevelopment was the retention and conservation of the heritage listed Florence Hummerston Lodge.

element was appointed to provide planning strategy and advice, heritage strategy and advice, prepare a comprehensive development application and obtain development approvals.

A complex and sensitive project, our approach took into account the surrounding well established residential area and vocally active local community. Its central location significantly influenced the design and siting of the proposed residential care building.

We worked to ensure key stakeholders and local community were engaged prior to any formal planning approval, ensuring the new facility integrated with the surrounding residential area as far as possible, while also meeting Rosewood’s strategic vision and general compliance requirements. We guided the development proposal through a complex process to achieve development approvals.  

Following development approval we worked closely with the project team to prepare a scope of conservation works to Florence Hummerston Lodge and a Heritage Interpretation Plan to tell the stories of the site in its future re-use.  

• Engage with local precinct group
• Heritage Impact Statements
• Heritage Interpretation Plan
• Heritage Specification and Scope of Works
• One-on-one with adjacent long term residents
• Local community workshop and feedback session
• Key stakeholder engagement
• Outcomes reporting to support planning processes