After $40 million plans to redevelop the Ritz Hotel into a 140-bed aged care home were rejected first by Blue Mountains City Council and then by the Land and Environment Court in 2021, owner Pathways Residences, which owns four luxury aged care homes in Sydney, now has revised plans being assessed through the State Significant Development (SSD) pathway.
The developer held a community event last week for locals to provide feedback on the designs.
Pathways Residences plans to sensitively redevelop the heritage-listed building, built in 1882, into a 120-bed luxury aged care home, taking feedback from the original proposal into account.
The 11,300 sqm site, located at 203-223 Leura Mall, 85km west of Sydney, has primarily operated as a hotel over the decades. However, during World War II it was used as a military convalescence hospital and in 1970 the building was converted into a 150-bed 'nursing home'. The home closed in 2017 after its accreditation was withdrawn.
Pathways Residences acquired the property in 2019.
A website dedicated to the project states, "Our reimagined design will restore the landscape and architectural grandeur of the Estate in the heart of Leura."
Seniors housing projects worth more than $30 million (or more than $20 million outside Greater Sydney) qualify as SSD projects.
