Ashburn Clinic in Dunedin celebrated the reopening of Alexander House this week, a project that chief operating officer David Murray described as being "two and a half years in the making".
Mr Murray could not disclose the price of the project, but said it was "significant".
"We're adding an extra 10 acute mental health beds into the community.
"That’s not something that happens often in the sector.
"It’s enough for an extra 16-19 residents per year.
"It’s the sort of increase that allows us to help more people transition into independence in the community thanks to the clinical programme."
Previously, the site had 50 mental health beds.
"We deal with people at the acute end of the mental health sphere, and we’re not just focused on Dunedin and Otago— people from all over country use our service."
Having had several purposes over recent years, Alexander House will return to being a transitional living space for people to shift from supported living to an independent living environment, Mr Murray said.
Run and maintained by residents, Alexander House promoted working together to develop and consolidate functional living skills as residents prepare for living in the wider community.
Residents will attend the connected Ashburn Day Programme, Monday to Friday.
"The day programme is embedded in the democratic therapeutic community model and based on experiential working groups.
"These provide the opportunity for practical skills development, work experience, relationship building, problem solving, resolving conflict, and management of emotions using a culture of inquiry and examined living."
