The University of Wollongong has submitted a development application to the Wollongong City Council for the Phase 1 masterplan for what is being billed as Australia’s first intergenerational university community.
The $250 million project would be set out on a 3.5-hectare site next the university’s Innovation Campus in Fairy Meadow, combining health research and teaching with patient-centric and multidisciplinary health facilities.
As we reported here two years ago, Lendlease will partner with UOW to run the retirement village, which would house 220 apartments.
The Health and Wellbeing precinct would also house a 120-bed aged care facility, a childcare centre and community health centres.
If the development is given the go-ahead, construction is expected to begin in 2022 with a completion date of 2024.
However, the project first started in 2017, which means when finished it will have been a nine-year project – including the estimated 24 months it will take to sell all 220 apartments.
So much changes in the industry over the course of a decade, it begs the question: how smaller operators could work within the long-time frames?
Thankfully, the Royal Commission has recognised all levels of Government will have to streamline regulations and the approval processes already in place to speed up development pathways.
Otherwise, there won’t be development of new villages and residential care will stall, leaving us with old stock that tomorrow’s customers won’t want.
