Gerrard returns to his Huyton roots
Steven Gerrard went back to his roots as he marked the official launch of the Bluebell Park Extra Care Facility in Huyton.
The £14.4 million project, which is planned to be built and open by the summer of 2014, is aimed to home over-55s and create jobs for the local community.
As one of Huyton's finest ambassadors, the Liverpool captain was proud to lend his support.
"I think this is great for the locals, especially the elderly who are going to benefit from this and it is close to my heart because it's where I grew up," said Gerrard.
"When I get requests like that which are close to my heart and are local to me then it's important to remember where you've come from. You've got to give a little bit back because this is where it all started for me.
"The people in this area have been of great support to me so it's a pleasure to come back and support them as well."
Explaining how the project will benefit the community, Helen White from Knowsley Housing Trust added: "The need for elder persons' accommodation in the borough is massive.
"We've got lots of elderly people in three bedroom homes having to battle down the stairs every day and struggling, and some are at risk of falling, so hopefully they can get a home here and have much more suitable accommodation and it will be much nicer for them.
"From a regeneration point of view, this site has just been kind of wasteland for a long time and there's been problems with anti-social behaviour, so it's fantastic there is something positive happening on the site."
Work has already begun on the new site and the authorities have promised that new jobs and apprenticeships will be given to local firms and businesses to help regenerate the community.
The skipper added: "You've got to give credit to Knowsley Council for keeping it local and being biased to the locals if you like.
"There will be jobs created and a lot of the elderly are going to benefit from this building so there's a lot of positives from this and one of the reasons why I came here to support it."