Arcare’s latest aged care build comes in at $246k a bed

The residential aged care provider, owned by the family-run property developer Knowles Group, has lodged plans for a new aged care facility in outer Melbourne.

Arcare’s proposal puts the cost to build at $246,000 per bed, which would exclude the cost of the land, is still a significantly lower-than-average price for an aged care bed, which are now topping as high as $800,000 in some regional areas.

Plans for the $32.5 million, two-storey, 132-bed home at 24-28 Harkaway Road, Berwick, 41km southeast of Melbourne’s CBD, have been lodged with City of Casey Council.

Rooms will vary in size, but each will have an ensuite and sitting area. Facilities will include a theater, billiard room, library, dining room, gym, salon, landscaped internal courtyards, and lounge areas – common to all Arcare developments.

Staff will have access to a training centre, team centre, maintenance rooms, meeting rooms, laundry facilities, and commercial kitchen.

The plans have been on exhibition and are now being considered by the Council.

1,100 beds in two years

Arcare opened 733 new aged care beds in 2025 and is set to deliver another 372 beds this year, making about 1,100 beds in total.

This included:

• The 110-bed Arcare Clyde, 48km south east of the Melbourne CBD, which opened on 24 November; and
• The 98-bed Arcare Wright, 13km southwest of the Canberra CBD, which opened on 15 December.

In 2026, the operator currently has four facilities due to open:

• The 118-bed Hove, 12km south-west of the Adelaide CBD – Arcare’s first in SA – which is expected to welcome its first residents in early July,
• The 118-bed Mount Waverley, 16km south-east of the Melbourne CBD, which is due to open in August,
• The 136-bed Sunbury, 40km north-west of the Melbourne CBD, which is expected to open in October, and,
• The 154-bed Boronia, 30km east of the Melbourne CBD, is set to open in December.

Construction of the 124-bed Arcare Gold Creek, 12km north of Canberra’s centre, is also set to begin shortly, an Arcare spokesperson told The Weekly SOURCE.

Today’s timeline is slightly ahead of forecasts provided late last year, and reveals increasing scale in the builds.

Arcare has also received approval through the NSW State Significant Development process for its 96-bed aged care home Huntlee Arcare, 170km north of Sydney.

Other specialist aged care operator/builders, such as Signature Care, have also been able to build aged care homes affordably, and have found ready buyers for their facilities.