ACH proposes first vertical retirement village – could it be Adelaide’s tallest?
“The market is characterised by a scarce supply of land for both retirement living and residential care at a time of increasing demand. As such it’s not surprising to see the industry looking more closely at vertical retirement living options,” CEO Linda Feldt said.
The vertical retirement living fever that has reshaped Sydney and Melbourne is now catching in Adelaide.
ACH Group, founded in 1952, is proposing its first high-rise retirement village: a 13-storey tower of 72 independent living apartments with an estimated development cost of $120 million, planned for the affluent inner suburb of Rose Park, just 1km east of Adelaide’s CBD.
ACH Group CEO Linda Feldt said the shift reflects a simple supply-and-demand squeeze.
“The market is characterised by a scarce supply of land for both retirement living and residential care at a time of increasing demand. As such it’s not surprising to see the industry looking more closely at vertical retirement living options,” she said.
Plans have been lodged with the State Commission Assessment Panel, the same body that in September 2022 approved developer Angus & Gunson Pty to deliver a 17-storey vertical village for Best Life Communities in Angas Street, Adelaide CBD – a project comprising 154 one- and two-bedroom apartments for over-55s.
This month, the Adelaide Economic Development Agency included Best Life Communities’ approved plan in its list of 30 major projects (worth more than $10 billion) that are either planned, approved or under construction.
Best Life Communities’ website describes the project as “not a land lease development”, positioning it instead as affordable housing. Director Simon Chappel told The Weekly SOURCE’s SATURDAY magazine in June 2023: “I will build, sell and operate over 900 homes in the next three years.”
Outside the CBD, Best Life has also been expanding its land lease footprint. Stages 1 to 6 of its Playford Waters over-50s land lease community (north of Adelaide) have sold, while Victor Harbour was selling Stages 4 and 5 in October last year. The group also holds development approval for Riverland in Renwick, on the banks of the Murray River, 254km northeast of Adelaide.
ACH’s Rose Park proposal lands alongside plans for a 170-bed residential aged care home at Dover Gardens, around 14km south-east of Adelaide’s city centre.
