218 retirement living units to wipe 4.4% off area’s seniors housing need
Ozcare eyes Gold Coast growth
- 218 units: New seniors community planned at Labrador
- Ageing boom: Over-75 population set to double
- Housing gap: Helps tackle looming supply shortfall
- Village living: Four buildings centred around shared amenities
Ozcare, which operates the $165 million Rendu Towers independent living units in Newstead, Brisbane, has lodged a new development application.
The Not For Profit, which is part of St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland, wants to build 218 independent living apartments across four buildings reaching six and seven-storeys adjacent to its Parkwood Gardens aged care facility in Labrador, the Gold Coast suburb 3.4km north of Southport.
This follows its bid to build seniors housing at its St Elizabeth Villa Aged Care facility in West Mackay, 1,228km north-northeast of Brisbane.
A demographic analysis submitted to City of Gold Coast notes that 41% of the surrounding area’s population was already aged 50 and over – substantially greater than the Australian average (35.5%) and the South East Queensland average (34.1%).
“The study area population aged (over-75) will almost double by 2046, rising from 22,085 to 43,285 residents,” a submitted document by Urban Planning Services states.
“This cohort is the core market for retirement living, and its rapid growth demonstrates a strong and escalating need for well-located seniors housing.
“Even under conservative modelling, demand exceeds supply by around 3,379 dwellings by 2046.
“The proposed 218 dwellings will address around 4.4 per cent of the region’s forecast shortfall and will deliver supply at a scale that is genuinely impactful.”
The design by Architectus is for a campus-style cluster of buildings encompassing “a central landscaped courtyard (that) evokes a town square setting” to foster community interaction.
Built across four stages, Ozcare says it would create 484 bedrooms – 23 one-bedrooms, 124 two-bedrooms and 71 three-bedroom apartments.
The communal space of 5,800msq (18.8% of the entire site) would also provide:
- Outdoor: seating areas, multi-purpose courts, community gardens, pool area, and outdoor entertaining area; and
- Indoor: Lounge, dining area, private dining area, games area and community hall.
