In August 2022, the Not For Profit said it would spend $150 million turning its Uniting Kingscliff residential aged care home on NSW’s Far North Coast into an integrated site featuring about 235 independent retirement living apartments and 120 residential aged care beds, including dementia care places.
Now it has lodged a State Significant Development Application with the NSW Government for a $233 million seniors independent living village. Plus Architecture is the project architect.
The 56% increase in the cost of the project occurs while reducing the number of homes delivered by 15%.
The proposal now is a mix of 199 retirement and independent living apartments and 120 residential aged care places.
“There has been an increased demand for quality homes and services on the Far North Coast and we are committed to creating a community that supports people to grow older with ease and dignity in the Tweed region they know and love,” Uniting Director of Property and Housing Simon Furness said.
If approved, a central feature will be the seniors' wellness centre complete with an outdoor pool, gym, cinema, hairdresser and communal clubroom to cater to the diverse needs of residents as they age. Medical and allied health consulting rooms will also be available on-site.
"Our architectural design has been shaped through extensive community consultation, aiming to preserve the local character and seamlessly integrate increased housing density with the surrounding neighbourhood," said Plus Architecture Principal, Gabriel Duque.
"Underpinned by careful consideration of local history, sustainability and Connecting with Country principles, Uniting Kingscliff will provide a socially conscious and vibrant seniors community."
Simon separately told The Weekly Source it hoped to lodge plans for Uniting's biggest project in its history, the transformation of Uniting War Memorial Hospital Waverley in Sydney's eastern suburbs, in August. The plan is to build 230 seniors’ independent living units and a 114-rooms residential aged care facility, with the adaptive reuse of existing heritage buildings on site.
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