Ground has been broken on a new hospice facility intended to improve care options on the island.

Community partners and board members of the Friends of Hospice took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Woodland Grove Care Centre, to be built on Spice Hill Road.

The facility will be the first purpose-built hospice and elder care facility in Bermuda.

Jennifer Mahoney, the executive director of the Friends of Hospice, said: “We are so thrilled to have taken this first step towards providing significantly expanded and improved care in Bermuda – and in Friends of Hospice’s 30th year, no less.

“The future of care here is bright and we are so grateful to our community partners, including D & J Construction and Lindberg and Simmons, as well as our donors for making it possible.

“Woodland Grove Care Centre will provide patients and their loved ones with the privacy and comfort that they so deserve while also empowering our incredibly dedicated team of employees and volunteers to perform their duties at even higher standards.”

The first stage of construction is expected to take two months with D & J Construction clearing soil, rubble and shrubbery for the site in advance of tank installation.

Andy Pereira, the company’s joint managing director, said the team was happy to be a part of the project.

He added: “We look forward to working with all stakeholders involved to produce an exceptional care centre that will provide a myriad of invaluable services to our community.

“As a company, we value family and recognise how important each moment that we have with our loved ones is.

“The Woodland Grove Care Centre will provide a space for families and loved ones to spend irreplaceable moments together in a caring environment supported by a team of passionate professionals.’

Gary Simmons, a managing partner and design director at architectural firm Lindberg and Simmons, said the Woodland Grove Care Centre was designed to create the best possible conditions for its guests.

“The building will have an aesthetic character heavily inspired by traditional Bermudian residential character, massing and vernacular,” he said.

“The provision of functional gardens and landscaped outdoor areas, around the building, contribute to the home environment and will offer tranquil and calming spaces.”

Anyone interested in supporting the project was invited to e-mail Ms Mahoney at executive.director@hospice.bm.

Plans to build a new Agape House were announced in 2019 and the Friends of Hospice charity announced in 2021 that it would manage the new hospice.

Drawings for the project showed 20 bedrooms on the building’s lower floor as well as a kitchen and dining room, gym, salon and family room.

The building’s second floor would include another eight bedrooms, offices and verandas overlooking the grounds.