In discussion with CEOs and marketing executives in the village sector, it is really interesting to note the lack of knowledge they have of the growth of alternative, competitive products, like Akoya Greenwich.
If you subscribe to our digital magazine, SATURDAY, you would have read this last weekend a background to this project.
With buyers averaging a median age of 75, Akoya (pictured above) is attracting older downsizers who would have historically looked towards the higher-end retirement village market.
Replicating the sales records of other CAPs projects, Akoya Greenwich is 70% sold on firm deposits six months before completion – it topped out last week.
Its three-bedroom apartments and penthouses are priced from $3.45 million and $5.495 million.
Billed as one of the most luxurious on Sydney’s North Shore, the building features 39 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and a range of amenities including an on-site concierge, in-house bar, private library, golf simulator room, cinema, private dining room with individual wine cellars, rooftop retreat with firepits and an infinity pool overlooking the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Alceon brief to Enrique Blanco de Cordova, a Principal and the lead architect at Marchese Partners on the Akoya Greenwich project, was clear: create an environment for the younger elder that delivers “wonder and joy”.
The project strategically is positioned as a positive and health-oriented community that is active and engaged. Akoya is to be a place where the life of residents expands, not contracts.
Fascinatingly, the development includes five separate 23sqm offices that residents can purchase for around $500K, to allow them to keep working or to pursue their interests. All have been sold.
The developer is Alceon, led by Trevor Loewensohn and Phil Green, who created Babcock & Brown Communities – now Lendlease Retirement – alongside Todd Pepper, who was a founder of Gateway, now Hometown land lease communities. Akoya is its first over-55s development.
It is not only the affluent who are being offered alternative communities to downsize to. Check out UrbanLife in Melbourne.
Then check the story we have in this issue of The SOURCE about Lendlease’s first Build To Rent project located in Brisbane. It has just been announced, but will be a reality in 26 months, compared to up to seven years for a retirement village, and offering community facilities most villages dream of.
Village operators could be thinking of alternative business models as well, like new competitors are.
Want a deep understanding of these models and where the future of retirement living and aged care is heading by 2030? Join us at the LEADERS SUMMIT in Sydney 16 & 17 March, with 40+ CEOs speaking on their strategies. Read the full story in this week’s issue of SATURDAY – subscribe here.
