Judith O’Heir has swapped the rural surrounds of the Bega Valley for the city environment of Manuka, and she couldn’t be happier.

Ms O’Heir is the first resident to buy at Marian Place, the Archdiocese’s new development of independent living units next to St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra.

She is most looking forward to the location and the amenities in the unit and in the Manuka precinct when she moves in in early June.

“I am at a stage in life where I wanted to be in the city close to everything, and Marian Place in Manuka answers all those things,” she said.

“There are a number of excellent shops, restaurants and eateries as well as a medical centre and a swimming pool nearby.

“And, of course, Manuka Oval is across the road, so I am expecting to get a few visitors who are keen to come for a visit and to watch some sport.

Ms O’Heir was impressed by the different unit options available.

She decided on one which has the living area separate to the bedrooms, laundry and bathrooms, and with a view in the north west towards Black Mountain and in the south east over the Cathedral and Manuka.

The former Bemboka resident signed the contract on March 8, International Women’s Day.

After consulting family and close friends about a potential move to Canberra, she decided to contact the Archdiocese to see what options were available.

Her expression of interest was timely with the building works in full swing and display units available for inspection.

Archdiocesan Financial Administrator Helen Delahunty and Marian Place Senior Portfolio Manager Dennis Godfrey were present at the signing and excited about signing up the first resident.

“We are now marketing the independent living units to the public as a whole, so we shall soon see the Marian Place name in other areas of mainstream media,” Mr Godfrey said.

“There has been considerable interest in Marian Place and we expect to see some additional signings over the next couple of weeks.

“We are also looking forward to taking possession of the building from Hindmarsh Construction come April.

Mr Godfrey said it was a delight to show Ms O’Heir through the property over a number of visits as she worked out which unit best suited her needs.

“I encourage anyone else who may be interested in having a look through the three available display units to book an appointment,” he said.

Ms Delahunty described the first sale of a unit as “a wonderful acknowledgment of all our work in getting to this stage of the development, after many years of planning”.

Ms O’Heir said both Ms Delahunty and Mr Godfrey were “a pleasure to deal with” and that they made the enquiry and application process easy.

Having recently sold in Bemboka, she says that she will miss the Bega Valley community, but knows that they are only a few hours down the road.

Ms O’Heir will have the Archdiocesan Office for Evangelisation team as neighbours in the St Christopher’s Pastoral Centre, the other new building in the Catholic Manuka precinct. Archdiocesan staff expect to move into their new offices in early June, with September being flagged as the time for the official opening by Archbishop Christopher Prowse.

Mr Godfrey says that a recent feature in the Canberra Times and a back page advertisement in the March edition of the Catholic Voice have yielded a significant number of enquiries. Movie-goers will soon see Marian Place ads appearing on the big screen.

For more information including an array of photographs of the units go to www.marianplacemanuka.com.au

To organise a viewing of the Marian Place units, contact Melissa Martin-Smith, email Melissa.Martin-Smith@luton.com.au or telephone 0412 765 198 or 6163 7777.