Ryman to build sixth retirement village in Australia with $100M development in Geelong

Monday 15th May 2017

Ryman Healthcare, New Zealand's biggest listed retirement village operator, announced plans for a sixth village in Australia, a $100 million development in the Victorian city of Geelong.

The village in Highton, six kilometres from Geelong's CBD, will include apartments and townhouses, aged care and dementia care facilities, the Christchurch-based company said in a statement. No price was disclosed for the privately owned 3.2-hectare site, which is currently the headquarters of Insight Engineering Australia.

Ryman development manager Andrew Mitchell said Ryman would consult local residents before submitting plans for the village.

The Geelong village announcement comes after Ryman got approvals in March to build a second village in Melbourne. Ryman owns and operates 31 villages in New Zealand and Australia and invested a record $272 million in new villages, innovation and upgrades to existing villages in the six months ended Sept. 30, 2016. The company reports its full-year results this Friday. It opened its first village in Melbourne in 2014 and has sites it's developing at Brandon Park, Burwood east and Coburg in Melbourne and Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula.

"Our research shows there is a shortage of retirement living options in the area, and we think Geelong residents are going to love the idea of a Ryman village coming to town," Mitchell said.

The shares rose 0.7 percent to $8.65 and have gained 5.9 percent this year.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet