Levande tops out final building in major retirement village

Levande has marked the first of seven significant development milestones scheduled over the coming weeks, beginning with a topping-out at its Cardinal Freeman retirement village in Ashfield, 8km west of Sydney’s CBD.

Levande CEO Kevin McCoy led the topping‑out ceremony for The Wattles Residences, the final stage of development at the village.

Kevin described the event as a significant milestone in the delivery of contemporary retirement living options that enhance choice, connection and independence for older Australians. 

Speakers at the ceremony included the Levande CEO; Inner West Council Mayor, Darcy Byrne; Cardinal Freeman Residents Committee Chair, Elizabeth Ivory; and GrowthBuilt General Manager, Adam Ashcroft. 

The ceremony was held on site at the former Building One location, recognising the completion of the building’s structural frame and the project’s transition into its final construction phase.

A symbolic tree was craned to the rooftop as part of the topping‑out ritual to represent growth, longevity and future prosperity for the community. The tree will later be replanted within the village’s gardens.

GrowthBuilt is constructing The Wattles Residences’ 41 new one‑, two‑ and three‑bedroom independent living apartments, with more than 350 existing homes on site. 

The new building will completes the total redevelopment of the site, which originally had 240 apartments when it was built by EPM Projects for $120 million in 2019.

Six more milestones to mark

Levande’s six other upcoming events include:

• Somerton Park, a seaside suburb of Adelaide: Thursday, 19 February will see a sod turning for a new clubhouse and 34 villas, an expansion of the existing village.
• Hills Showground, Castle Hill, 34km northwest of Sydney’s CBD: a further sod turning will be held on Tuesday, 3 March, with 14 houses to be demolished for a new village of 217 independent living apartments.

• Bentleigh East, 14km southeast of Melbourne’s CBD: Thursday, 12 March will host a sod turning for the redevelopment of former light industrial land into a new village for around 400 residents across four buildings. Stage one is for 85 apartments, with the final development to boast over 250 apartments.

• Highton, Geelong, 75km from Melbourne’s CBD: Thursday 19 March will see a sod turning on the greenfield site for a new 120-unit village.
• Oak Grange, Brighton East, 12km southeast of Melbourne’s CBD: Monday, 23 March is expected to see this redevelopment approaching fitout stage, with first of 201 new one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments across multiple buildings.
• Oatlands, 23km northwest of Sydney’s CBD: Tuesday, 24 March will also feature a sod turning for 127 independent living units to be built across three new buildings at the Oatlands Golf Course.

The Weekly SOURCE reported on 19 January that Levande had made its first land acquisition for a retirement village in Queensland, totalling 206 apartments.

The Castle Hill site is about 14km from Levande’s 28-storey $200 million vertical retirement village, The Cambridge, in Epping, which opened in November last year. The Cambridge includes 158 independent living apartments and a 132-bed aged care facility by Opal HealthCare.