Levande’s eight-year redevelopment battle sees project cost rise 147%
- Fresh bid: Levande’s revised Lourdes redevelopment is now on exhibition
- Major renewal: 145 new retirement apartments to replace ageing village
- Bushfire focus: Design includes major safety upgrades and heritage conservation
- Eight-year journey: Site has been awaiting redevelopment since 2018
The nation’s most prolific village developer inherited a number of sites from Stockland that were verging on being beyond their use-by-date.
One such site is Lourdes Village at Killara, 14km northwest of Sydney’s CBD, which Stockland had unsuccessfully tried to redevelop it from 2018 onwards.
On 15 December 2023, the Sydney North Planning Panel knocked back Levande’s new $100 million proposal, despite acknowledging that the site was in need of renewal.
Almost three years on, Levande and Beam Planning have lodged a fresh $247 million State Significant Development Application (SSDA) to redevelop the site.
Currently, the site is home to the Levande Lourdes retirement village, which includes 108 independent living units (ILUs) and 64 serviced retirement apartments, an 83-bed residential aged care facility (RFC) (known as Killara Glades Care Community operated by Opal HealthCare), administrative buildings and additional resident community facilities.
The buildings vary in scale from one to three storeys, and the site includes a locally listed heritage item, Headfort House.
The SSDA is seeking approval for the staged redevelopment of the existing village.
The proposed development comprises:
- Staged demolition of the existing 172 seniors’ housing dwellings, including independent living units and serviced apartments in the highest bushfire risk areas.
- Nine boutique seniors’ housing buildings, ranging from two to four storeys, containing 145 independent living units.
- A new community centre for social and recreational activities.
- Bushfire protection measures, including a new Asset Protection Zone and upgraded infrastructure.
- Subdivision of the site to separate the existing residential aged care home from the retirement living community.
- Alterations to the existing residential aged care home, including façade upgrades, internal works and bushfire protection improvements to meet Rural Fire Service requirements.
- Demolition of the buildings linking the aged care home to the serviced apartments.
- Upgraded water tanks, sprinkler systems and supporting infrastructure.
- Landscaping designed to retain significant trees and biodiversity while protecting adjoining bushland.
- Conservation and adaptive re-use of the heritage-listed Headfort House, together with improvements to its surrounds.
- Two basement car parks providing resident parking and associated services.
- New roads, at-grade parking and extensive landscaping throughout the site.
- Upgrades to utilities and other supporting infrastructure.
“Due to their generally poor and dilapidated condition, development consent is sought for the staged demolition of all buildings on the site, with the exception of the heritage listed Headfort House, and the majority of the RCF,” Beam Planning said in the Environment Impact Statement.
Lourdes’ units have been off the market for the past eight years.
The new application is on exhibition until 3 August.
