The major retirement living operator has bought the 25,830sqm site of the former Australian Roads Research Board (ARRB) headquarters, with its 13 buildings, in Vermont South, 26km east of Melbourne's CBD as it pursues a growth strategy.
“This is the first acquisition we have made since we stood up Keyton as an independent business from our Lendlease retirement living origins and I commend the team, led by Head of Development Jason Fitzgerald, for successfully executing the purchase," said Nathan Cockerill, Keyton Chief Executive Officer.
Jason said the acquisition is a huge first step for Keyton’s national growth strategy and a significant addition to the Victorian development pipeline.
“This infill development is superbly located with established services, retail, and transport infrastructure all on its doorstep, only 20km from the CBD. And its elevated position gives spectacular views to the Dandenong ranges,” he said.
“Preservation and adaptive re-use of the site’s heritage building will become the centre piece for the new community to support an active and independent resident lifestyle with a strong focus on wellbeing.”
The ARRB headquarters was built by Leighton Constructions in 1971-72 to a design by Mockridge Stahle & Mitchell. It is regarded as a fine and highly intact representative example of a Post-war Modernist commercial building. It was sold for $28.5 million in May 2017 and put back on the market in May 2019. Part of the building collapsed after a fire ripped through a disused building and caused significant damage in March 2021.
Keyton, with 75 retirement villages across Australia, is jointly owned and operated under a trust structure by Aware Super (49.9%), APG Asset Management (25%) and Lendlease (25.1%).
“We’d like to over the medium to longer term get to about 20,000 units,” Nathan said at Keyton's launch in June last year.
The acquisition follows The Weekly Source on Tuesday revealing Levande had bought two new parcels of land for retirement villages.
Browse Keyton's retirement living sites and availability on villages.com.au
