EXPLAINED: Why latest Yamba development isn’t about greed

Of all the developments Adrian Ciano has been involved with, this latest project in Yamba might just be his favourite.

Uniting head of property development Adrian Ciano and the design concept for Uniting Yamba retirement village.

OF ALL the developments Adrian Ciano has been involved with, this latest project in Yamba just might be his favourite.

“I simply love the area; there’s something for everybody,” he said.

“Yamba is accessible for everyone; it’s flat, it has nice bike paths and then there’s the fishing, local produce and relaxed vibe.”

As the head of property development for Uniting, Mr Ciano has spearheaded several retirement village construction projects. However, Yamba has been a long time coming.

An artist impression of what the Uniting Yamba independent living village will look like.

After purchasing the land on Yamba Road and Freeburn Street, the site has remained dormant for several years.

“I think everyone thought the blocks were a cricket pitch,” Mr Ciano laughed.

“But lots of planning was going on in the background into what we wanted to do. We knew the demand was there for a retirement village component and so we designed it so people can age in one place.”

With stage one of Uniting Yamba retirement village construction fast approaching, Mr Ciano is hopeful the final product will meet the expectations of Yamba’s ageing community.

“Uniting’s desire is to try and create an ageing-desirable village with the idea of having accommodation of choice to suit most needs while trying to deliver services,” he said.

“We’ve been fortunate to have worked on several other projects to help us refine this goal. We don’t want to make these spaces look like they’re sterile but rather modern looking homes that people can hopefully see themselves moving into.”

Mr Ciano admitted that when it came to the development industry, he preferred working outside of the for-profit sector.

“Throughout my career I’ve always been looking for purposeful assets rather than something that is profit driven and created to get a return for your shareholders,” he said.

“With Uniting, it’s hard to find a more purpose-led organisation.”

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