RetireAustralia’s owner Infratil held a board meeting before a celebration to mark the end of building work at The Rise at Wood Glen retirement village in Erina on the NSW Central Coast last Thursday.
It has been 21 years since work began on the site, which has 11 original residents. There are 185 residents. The final stage of The Rise, which has 34 luxury two- and three-bedroom apartments, marks the completion of the community.
It was also Infratil CEO Jason Boyes’ first look at a retirement village. He took over as CEO in April last year.
RetireAustralia CEO Dr Brett Robinson again pitched its retirement village business as a genuine alternative to aged care.
“We think that the way that Australians look after older Australians can be better and we think we can make a real difference in how that happens. Particularly when you look at the fracturing of the aged care sector that is in front of us at the moment,” said RetireAustralia CEO Brett Robinson.
“We see an opportunity for us to be leaders as to how our industry can reshape itself, and what we're doing here on the Central Coast is at the heart of that. The build out of your village with homes that enable ageing in place, introducing home care services in all our Central Coast villages, as well as Glengara Care in Tumbi Umbi where we can provide end of life support for residents.
“Wood Glen really is a flagship in terms of what we see to be the future of caring for our older Australians.”
The building of Wood Glen began in 2002 and progressed in stage to 2018, with The Lodge (the community centre) completed in 2007. There are 94 independent living units.
The Rise at Wood Glen was a $46 million project of 58 luxury apartments in two buildings. The first building was finished in 2020 and the second, the final part of the village, has just been completed.
