Macedon Ranges Shire Council has approved GemLife New Gisborne, the ASX-listed operator’s second Victorian Over-50s lifestyle resort.
Stage one of GemLife New Gisborne includes 116 homes, with 247 homes planned across the 23-hectare site, 57km north of Melbourne. It follows the $248 million GemLife Woodend, completed in 2024.
Around 35% of the site will remain open space, including rejuvenated ornamental gardens and orchard, and the preservation of mature 100-year-old oaks, cedars, elms and hedges. Civil works are slated to start later this year over five stages, with the first release expected December 2025.
GemLife Managing Director and Group CEO Adrian Puljich said the design reflects strong local demand for downsizer housing.
“We’ve taken design cues from the existing settler homestead and surrounding gardens to create a community in keeping with the charm of this beautiful region… There’s huge demand and short supply, so we’re anticipating interest from people relocating from large properties and family homes, and from those moving here for the relaxed pace and great lifestyle on offer.”
Melbourne architect Taylor Knights and landscape firm Taylor Cullity Lethean will reimagine the circa-1908 Westport Homestead into a $20 million heritage-led amenity hub. The restored bungalow will house a library, meeting and billiards rooms, opening to verandah views of the Macedon Ranges, courtyard gardens and a lawn bowls green.
Two new Country Club buildings will connect under one roof with a lounge, café, dining and kitchen, pool, gym, arts and crafts studio and cinema, arranged around a courtyard garden anchored by a sculptural brick fireplace.
Taylor Knights director James Taylor said the restoration will pair “the homestead’s heritage character with contemporary spaces” to create a distinctive resident experience.
