IRT Group starts work on delivering 800 new seniors living homes

The Wollongong-based Not For Profit is expanding its seniors housing pipeline, 85km south of Sydney CBD.

IRT Group held a ceremony to mark the $45 million refurbishment of the community organisation’s longest operating seniors living community, IRT Diment, in Wollongong.

The 55-year-old site will be redeveloped into 102 independent living apartments in a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom layouts.

“It’s very exciting to see it start to come into fruition,” IRT CEO Ross Gallagher said. “It’s obviously very important to us because it’s where our story started.”

While the redevelopment provides a more modern upgrade to the facade and interiors, the iconic structure will continue to pay homage to its important history.

“I think there’s a lot of people around that still remember this building; there’s a lot of people around that still either worked on it or had some sort of personal association with it,” Ross said.

“So it’s great to be able to keep that legacy but obviously we want to preserve it for the next 50 years as well.

The IRT Diment redevelopment is part of IRT’s commitment to deliver more than 1,000 new homes for senior residents, including approximately 800 independent living units and 200 residential care beds across Greater Western Sydney, the Illawarra and NSW South Coast over the next decade.

Additional beds are being added to IRT Group’s Marco Polo aged care home in Unanderra after a $15.8 million grant under the Australian Government’s Aged Care Capital Assistance Program, announced in September 2024.

“We know bed block is such a significant issue here and I know it won’t alleviate it fully but 48 beds will be a good start and the refurbishment of 80 beds down there as well will just make sure that whole site is fit for purpose moving well into the future,” Ross said.

IRT is also proposing:

• a seniors’ living hub that supports ageing in place in Moruya, a town on the NSW South Coast, 305km south of Sydney, incorporating a mix of residential aged care, retirement living and key worker accommodation, in addition to on-site amenities such as a village green, café and clubhouse, which will be open to the local community;

• a new proposed seniors’ living community in Milton, a village 222km south of Sydney, which will include an aged care centre, a retirement village with a mix of premium villas, apartments and units for independent living, and short-term and key worker accommodation; and
• the demolition and rebuild of IRT Woonona, a northern suburb of Wollongong, to feature five buildings of three to four storeys delivering 98 independent living units and ancillary services.