CEO Kevin McCoy said Levande Swedish owner EQT was looking to spend up to $2 billion over the next five to 10 years on new developments and redevelopments of some of the 58 villages in its portfolio, which currently has an occupancy rate of about 95%.
The Cambridge (pictured) in Epping, 18km northwest of Sydney’s CBD, is the first new build of the business created in August 2022 after global investment business EQT Infrastructure paid $987 million for Stockland Retirement Living’s 58 retirement village portfolio across four states.
Being built by Richard Crookes Construction there will be 172 one-, two-, two plus study, and three-bedroom independent living units on the upper floors, with a 132-bed aged care facility on the lower floors. The architect is Architectus and Project Manager is EPM Projects. It is scheduled for completion in mid-2025.
10 villages have been earmarked by Levande for a total knock down and rebuild, including three projects in Melbourne and Sydney, that are in advanced stages of planning.
Levande has a target of acquiring 20 new development sites within the next three years. The SOURCE reported on 30 January that it had acquired its first site with two other sites imminent.
He said EQT would increase its investment in Australia over the next five years, by which time it hoped to deliver up to 800 new retirement units annually.
In Adelaide, Levande is considering investing up to $100 million to convert a disused six-storey aged care facility at its Somerton Park site into retirement apartments.
Levande owns 11 retirement villages in South Australia and is looking at three additional development sites in the state.
Kevin said foreign investor surcharges on residential land and property purchases in SA and NSW made projects in those two states a little harder to stack up.
“Because we’re foreign owned we have to effectively pay double stamp duty on anything,” Kevin told News Corp Australia.
“We’re trying to work with policy makers and governments and treasuries on that.”
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