Levande has returned with a fresh State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to redevelop the 40-plus-year-old Lourdes Retirement Village at Killara, 14km north-west of the Sydney CBD – more than 18 months after the Sydney North Planning Panel rejected an earlier proposal, a decision the operator called “deeply disappointing.”
Levande is owned by global investment firm EQT Infrastructure. The 5.25ha site currently comprises the 173-unit Lourdes Retirement Village – 108 independent living units (ILUs), 65 serviced apartments, the 83-bed Killara Glades Care Community (operated by Opal HealthCare), administrative buildings and resident facilities. Existing buildings range from one to three storeys with pitched roofs.
According to Beem Planning’s Scoping Report, the staged redevelopment proposes to:
- Partially and sequentially demolish existing seniors housing, removing ILUs and serviced apartments within the highest bushfire-risk areas to create an Asset Protection Zone.
- Undertake a Torrens subdivision to fully separate the existing aged care facility from the retirement living site.
- Demolish connecting structures between the aged care facility and the serviced apartments.
- Construct a new seniors housing precinct: 10 buildings delivering 145 ILUs (two-bed, two-bed plus study, and three-bed), 2-4 storeys, with new community facilities.
The previously rejected scheme – originally lodged by former owner Stockland – sought 141 ILUs, a 110-bed aged care facility on the northern half of the site, and 63 medium-density townhouses on the south.
“The proposed built form and design is the result of extensive planning and design, in consultation with the Department, Council and the RFS,” Beem Planning states. “It balances environmental sensitivity with community need and will revitalise an outdated site into a modern, contemporary facility for the local community.”