Work has officially started on the CapeCare facility in Dunsborough which will comprise of an 80-bed residential facility for people with high physical needs in dementia, palliative care and 21 independent living apartments.
The $37.5 million development will also include allied health services, a new premises for the Dunsborough Country Women's Association, a playground and landscaped gardens
The facility will employ approximately 60 people full time over the course of the development and around 530 people during the construction phase.
The project is set to be completed in mid 2021.
The project is made possible thanks to funding from both the Federal Government's Building Better Regions fund and the State Government's Regional Aged Accommodation Program.
Forrest MP Nola Marino said the Building Better Regions Fund was all about these sorts of projects.
"When you see what this means in a community, a small community like Dunsborough, it's even more important," she said.
"That's exactly what the Federal Government is intending in the regional development space.
"This is going to provide wonderful facilities for local people."
CapeCare chief executive officer Stephen Carmody said the opening was a culmination of many years of work.
"Today we've actually turned the sod just to symbolically say that the construction has started," he said.
Capecare chair Nadine Carter said the City of Busselton has one of the fastest growing aging populations.
"I think certainly for Dunsborough as a community, families have had to travel outside of the region to actually obtain aged care services, especially for residential care," she said.
"It is really about having a place where people can age with their families, with their communities and age well at home."
South West Development Commission chief executive officer Mellisa Teede said it is a wonderful project for the Dunsborough community.
"The State Government is just delighted to have been part of this," she said.
"It's so important that we keep people in communities, so important that we keep people in our community here with their family and with all the support around them."
Dunsborough CWA president Jan Button said they would be able to interact with the community, the residents and hold more events.
"We all be able to sit in there without sitting on each others knees," she said.
"Also, we have taught autistic teenagers in the last few weeks how to paint on material bags and take home and how to cook muffins.
"So we'll be having a nice new kitchen that we will be able to invite them here instead of going to where there was a small kitchen and have a little oven."
Perkins Builders managing director Dan Perkins said as lead contractor they would engage the local supply chain as much as possible.
"That's not only day labor on-site, but also it gets into quite complex trades and whatnot.
"Secondarily, we've got a lot of experience now in this type of product in the metropolitan area, in the wider part of Western Australia."
For more information on Capecare Dunsborough, visit capecare.com.au/independent-living/capecaredunsborough/.
