About 200 members voted “overwhelmingly” to support the project, which will see ThirdAge take out a 99-year lease of club land to build ‘The Merewether Residences’, four six-storey buildings of apartments plus a new clubhouse and wellness centre.
The Newcastle Herald reports that the Club began looking at redevelopment plans to shore up its financial position last year including building between 115 and 150 retirement living apartments.
Interestingly, while some Newcastle golf clubs have recently found themselves in financial trouble, Merewether, which has 1,100 members, is reportedly in strong form.
The club’s secretary manager, Michelle Heritage, says the deal will provide the Club with long-term lease revenue and a replacement for its ageing clubhouse – estimated to cost at least $15 million.
It’s the second project for ThirdAge, which is a partnership between Michael Eggington the former Lendlease retirement CEO, and residential developer Thirdi’s Ron Dadd, Luke Berry and Robert Huxley.
Their first site is in Castlecrag in Sydney’s northern suburbs and they are also looking to secure more sites. Eggington is understood to be heavily involved in UK retirement development as well.
