Ryman Healthcare’s desire for development land in Melbourne continues with the purchase of two new sites in Essendon, 8km northwest of Melbourne’s CBD.

The retirement and aged care operator owns and operates five villages in Melbourne, with seven in the pipeline. Ryman told the NZX it had bought the Lions Club of Essendon-owned Essendon Terrace, which neighbours the 1.8ha site Ryman purchased in May, where it plans to build a new $165 million retirement village.

In addition, Ryman announced the purchase of a 2.35ha block of land next to its operational Deborah Cheetham Retirement Village in the seaside town of Ocean Grove, 98km southwest of Melbourne’s CBD, with plans to build a further 66 villas on the site. The planned expansion will see the completed village offering a total of 148 independent villas, together with 53 assisted living suites and a 120-bed care centre.

“All the available stages of retirement villas at Deborah Cheetham sold out faster than we ever imagined they would, and we have a long waiting list of people wanting to get in,” said Ryman CEO Cameron Holland (pictured above).

“When the neighbouring property became available for sale, it presented an opportunity to meet that extra demand. It’s just further confirmation for us that there’s an incredibly strong appetite in the Victorian market for world class retirement living communities that also offer aged care on site.”

Ryman Healthcare, which was founded in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1984, owns and operates 43 retirement villages in New Zealand and Australia, which is home to 12,750 residents. Ryman employs 6,300 staff.