Anglicare backs Australia’s tallest seniors’ tower

An approved apartment tower is set for a major rethink, with developer Freecity and Anglicare Sydney partnering on a 41-storey integrated seniors living and aged care development.

The project would deliver approximately 173 two- and three-bedroom independent living units and 24 residential aged care rooms, supported by wellness, rehabilitation and consulting spaces, communal dining, landscaped terraces and shared social areas.

The proposal is planned for 378-398 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest, directly opposite the new Metro station. The Cox Architecture-designed development would become Australia’s tallest seniors living and aged care tower if approved, overtaking Levande’s 28-storey Cambridge development at Epping.

Freecity, a Sydney-based property developer with a development pipeline exceeding $7 billion, said the project was originally conceived as a build-to-sell apartment development before detailed market analysis identified sustained demand for well-located seniors living on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

A major rethink

The development represents a significant change from the scheme approved by the NSW Government in November 2025.

That approval allowed Freecity to develop a 40-storey mixed-use tower comprising 178 luxury apartments above retail and commercial space, with an estimated end value of more than $600 million.

Planning documents lodged with the NSW Department of Planning outline revised plans to replace the previously approved apartment development with a vertical seniors’ living community.

“The new application will retain the same design philosophy that was supported under the previous approval,” the SEARs request states.

Reimagining ageing well

Freecity Co-Founder and Joint CEO Lawrence Zheng said Anglicare’s experience and the attributes of the site made the partnership too strong to pass up.

“Research increasingly shows that seniors want to remain in vibrant urban communities and delivering high-quality seniors living in well-located urban areas both meets demand but is also a critical part of freeing up broader housing supply,” he said.

James Poulos, General Manager – Commercial & Strategy for Seniors Communities at Anglicare, said the project would reimagine ageing well in a connected urban setting.

“Our focus is on creating a community where people can age gracefully in the place they call home, with access to enhanced services, future care pathways and a range of living options that provide greater certainty, support and choice,” he said.

DA to be filed by year-end

The site is close to Royal North Shore Hospital, the broader St Leonards health precinct, Crows Nest village, local parks and community facilities. Planning documents also point to the site’s accessibility and direct Metro connection as key advantages for older residents.

A development application is expected to be submitted towards the end of the year, with construction anticipated to begin in 2028, subject to approvals.

The project comes two weeks after Anglicare completed its acquisition of Infinite Care, establishing the provider as a national operator across four states with 46 residential aged care homes, approximately 5,300 beds and around 7,500 staff.

It also builds on Anglicare’s earlier plans for a 24-storey continuum of care development at Merrylands, comprising 98 independent living units and an 88-bed residential aged care home.