Dale and Charissa Harrison are hardly getting a wink of sleep as they discover the complexity of starting a retirement living business.

The founders of UrbanLife have acquired four parcels of land in and around Melbourne and have recently been successful with securing their constructions funding with capital from Europe, Middle East, South Africa and Asia. They are commencing work to build a hotel style 227-apartment village for Over 55s in two-towers. A podium rooftop of resident lifestyle amenities sits between the fourth floor in inner city Footscray. A 3,200m2 Commercial precinct of retail shops, a new Little Saigon fresh food market, and hawker style restaurants will be on the ground floor.

“We have a registered fund in Singapore that is attracting money globally for our Australian business” Charissa said.

Charissa also told The Weekly SOURCE she believed a planning application for a $105 million village development of five buildings in Altona North would be successful. The couple also have land in Vermont South and at Upper Ferntree Gully in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges.

All of UrbanLife’s properties are strategically positioned right next to major shopping centres, local conveniences and transport.

“We have been working on this since 2016 and our first village will take at least two years to build,” Charissa said.

“We see retirement living as being terribly under-resourced and often we see them built in the outer suburbs, most likely due to the ease of land acquisition in these locations.

“When we decided to go down the retirement pathway, one of the most important things for us was having the sites in inner urban locations. Residents should be part of the community, be able to get out and have fun, have places to go and to be a part of the street life.”

At Footscray you go downstairs and can be a part of a vibrant activated commercial and restaurant space.