Talks began with Community Housing Canberra, the owner of the land in Downer, in Canberra's north, in 2015, Goodwin’s chair Liesel Wett said.
"We were fortunate to finally reach agreement for the sale of the land in 2020," she said.
A development application for the ACT-based Not For Profit's sixth retirement village was submitted in 2021 and construction was initially due to begin in 2022.
However, the project stalled when the development was partially approved in 2022 and required one of the buildings to be redesigned. Goodwin resubmitted the plans and received approval in 2023.
In the meantime, more than half of the 109 two- and three-bedroom independent living apartments and 20 single-bedroom assisted living apartments have been sold.
Goodwin Village Downer is the first retirement village in Canberra that will have affordable housing properties for seniors. It is also a first for Goodwin with the inclusion of assisted living accommodation for those who require extra support.
A sod-turning ceremony was held at the site on 10 April to mark the beginning of construction. Local firm CK Architecture is designing the village, with ACT-based construction company Manteena building it.
Goodwin owns and operates retirement villages in Ainslie, Batemans Bay, Crace, Farrer and Monash.
