Levande acquires derelict VIC retirement village

The 20-year saga of a failed retirement village on a 7.2-hectare beachfront site in Ocean Grove on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula has finally come to an end.

Levande, the most active retirement village operator in Australia, has purchased the site from Serafino De Simone and his brother Giuseppe (Joe) De Simone.

Levande settled on the prime beachfront site two weeks ago after receiving approval from the City of Greater Geelong for a new retirement village of around 160 independent living villas.

The previous 136-unit retirement village project stalled nearly two decades ago, leaving a collection of partially built structures that have since fallen into disrepair and become a well-known eyesore.

In September 2023, Serafino De Simone said community consultation about the future of the site, which also incorporates the Ocean Grove Hotel, was expected to start next year.

“We are very grateful for the groundswell of community support for our redevelopment ideas and are currently reviewing design options for this iconic site,” he said.

“We are looking forward to providing much needed and improved community and tourism facilities to serve the growing Bellarine population and visitors to this amazing region.”

The legendary Ocean Grove “Collendina” Hotel, which has been an integral part of the Ocean Grove community for the last 60 years, does not form part of Levande’s acquisition.

Levande has seven retirement villages under construction:

• Hills Showground, NSW (Stage 1);
• Oatlands, NSW;
• Cardinal Freeman, NSW;
• Bentleigh East, VIC (Stage 1);
• Highton, VIC;
• Oak Grange, VIC (Stage 1); and
• Somerton Park, SA

The operator also has seven villages in its future pipeline:

• Knox, VIC;
• Ocean Grove, VIC;
• Oak Grange, VIC (Stage 2);
• Castle Ridge, NSW;
• Bentleigh Greens, VIC;
• Bulimba, QLD, and
• Farrington Grove, QLD.