Curtin Heritage Living to “challenge the boundaries between ‘care’ and ‘living’”

The Perth-based aged care and retirement living provider is progressing its latest development.

Not For Profit Curtin Heritage Living has appointed Cox Architecture as masterplan architect and Urbis as town planner for Monument Bay, a proposed integrated care community at 60 McCabe Street, Mosman Park, 15km southwest of the Perth CBD.

The 28,000sqm site on the north bank of the Swan River was acquired last year for $56 million. Previously zoned for social care, WA Planning Minister John Carey rezoned the site in 2025 to allow mixed-use development. Under the new zoning, buildings of up to five storeys are permitted, alongside community facilities such as cafés, restaurants, and residential apartments.

COX Architecture and Urbis will work as an integrated team on the Monument Bay masterplan, which will include aged care, supported living, retirement living, residential housing, and community spaces.

The project is inspired by models from Denmark, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands, while also drawing on lessons from Curtin Heritage Living’s own experience developing its mixed-use Cottesloe precinct, Waterfront Cottesloe, which opened in 2021.

Dementia central to new community

Dementia care has been identified as a core focus of the Monument Bay masterplan. The aged care home will be built according to the small household model, with normal household routines to be factored into the daily life of residents.

The design will feature central landscaped spine lined with cafés and wellness hubs. Retirement living and townhouses will sit alongside integrated amenities including bistros, wellness centres, and a cinema.

“Curtin Heritage Living was drawn to COX Architecture's ability to combine strong design thinking with a deep understanding of complex, community-based environments,” said its Managing Director, David Cox.

“Their approach demonstrated sensitivity to place, an ability to manage long-term staging, and a clear commitment to designing environments that prioritise dignity, wellbeing, and lived experience.”

COX Architecture Director, Fernando Faugno, said the project will “challenge the boundaries between ‘care’ and ‘living’”.

“Our aspirations are to create a place that feels like any other neighbourhood,” he said.

Curtin Heritage Living has been in operation for more than 45 years, today offering independent living and residential aged care, including RiverSea Mosman Park, a small-household dementia care model made up of five cottages.

The operator is also scaling up in home care. Late last year, it acquired family-owned Carealot, after taking on Shine Community Care in 2021.