RFBI’s $260M 252-home seniors’ living plan
- 252 homes: 193 independent living and 59 assisted living units
- Mixed use: Retail, café, gym, community spaces and 6% affordable housing
- Up to nine storeys: Building height sought to increase from 12m to 30m
- Economic boost: Around 500 residents and 600 jobs if approved
The Not For Profit provider is eyeing its next major retirement living project as it looks to expand into one of NSW’s fastest-growing regions.
Planning documents prepared by Colliers Urban Planning, with concept designs by Calderflower, reveal the Royal Freemasons’ Benevolent Institution is proposing a $260 million mixed-use seniors living community on a 2.08-hectare site in Leppington, 40km southwest of Sydney's CBD.
The proposal would deliver 252 seniors living dwellings, comprising 193 independent living retirement units and 59 assisted living units, alongside neighbourhood retail, community facilities and approximately 6% affordable housing.
The project adds to RFBI’s growing Sydney development pipeline. Earlier this year, the Not For Profit lodged plans for a $77.4 million redevelopment of its Concord Community Village, while it is also set to operate a $30 million integrated seniors living and residential aged care component within Ecove Group’s approved $294 million mixed-use development at Rhodes East.
Mixed-use vision
Located at 79 Rickard Road, the project forms part of the future Leppington Town Centre precinct and is within walking distance of shops, medical services, public transport and the railway station.
The proposal comprises five buildings ranging from four to nine storeys, incorporating a café, neighbourhood shops, gym, physiotherapy service, community hall, landscaped public plaza and communal open space.
The project has been declared a State Significant Development under the Housing Delivery Authority pathway, with RFBI seeking to increase the site’s maximum building height from 12 metres to 30 metres while retaining its existing R3 Medium Density Residential zoning.
According to the planning report, the higher-density built form reflects the changing character of the precinct, with developments of between 10 and 15 storeys expected opposite the site and buildings of up to 28 storeys planned closer to Leppington Station.
RFBI said the community is intended to support ageing in place by combining independent living, assisted living and onsite services within a walkable neighbourhood connected to existing and future transport, retail and health services.
If approved, the development would accommodate around 500 residents, support approximately 300 construction jobs and create a further 300 ongoing operational roles.
