Land lease's quiet achievers outbid five others for approved 230-home site

Joint Managing Directors Kenny Phillips and Richard Volpe simply build and operate Over 55s land lease communities.

There is no fuss, no need for publicity, but their business Clifton Lifestyle is growing and growing.

Clifton Lifestyle has bought a 13.5-hectare site at Highworth, a small, semi-rural residential suburb in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, with approval for a 230-home land lease community.

The site, owned by Ingenia Communities and Sun Communities, was sold through Colliers' Baydn Dodds and Chris O’Driscoll. It might be one of the underperforming assets Ingenia Communities announced to the ASX on Wednesday it would be divesting.

Readers of The Weekly SOURCE may remember back to November 2020, when local residential developer Highgate Developments lodged a development application for a 275-home land lease community on the site.

Approval was given for 236 homes along with extensive communal facilities including a cinema, gym, swimming pool, café/bar, bowling green, pickleball or tennis courts, men’s shed and caravan or boat parking.

Now, the development has been marketed as “shovel ready”, with approvals already in place for bulk earthworks and stormwater works. 

The site also carries low density residential zoning, creating future subdivision potential subject to council approval. 

The property was marketed via a national expressions of interest campaign which generated over 150 enquiries and resulted in six formal offers to purchase the property, from both land lease community and residential land developers.

Clifton Old Bar on NSW’s Mid North Coast was Clifton Lifestyle's first Over 55s land lease community.

Clifton Lifestyle has also announced but not yet built: Clifton Yamba Blue, Clifton Camden Haven, Clifton Victor Harbour and Clifton Toowoomba.