Senior housing development proposals in Anna Bay and Fern Bay on cards for Port Stephens
Developers are honing in on a popular coastal region in the Hunter to offer ‘high-quality’ living for the over 50s. Find out where it is.
Newcastle
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With pristine beaches and beautiful surroundings, Port Stephens has plenty to offer for those looking to slow down and hang up the working boots with developers now targeting the older generation.
Proposals across the region for ‘high-quality’ living for the over 50s is somewhat of a common occurrence as developments continue to offer a plethora of drawcards and an attractive lifestyle.
One of the latest on the cards is a $28 million five-storey seniors housing development set for Anna Bay which would see two interconnected “wings” with 32 units.
The Gan Gan and Old Main Rds proposal is nothing short of impressive in the amenity department, sure to keep residents entertained for days with a snooker room, beauticians room, gym and sauna, swimming pool and communal gardens with dining areas.
A separate commercial tenancy is also in the plans, envisioned to be built into a salon or similar.
Port Stephens Council has adopted local housing strategy ‘Live Port Stephens’ which highlights the demand for more diverse housing within the region, with figures in 2019 showing seniors housing comprised of 3.8 per cent of housing stock and a need and want for more supply of downsized homes.
“Housing diversity offers significant social benefits to the community, creates opportunities for the regeneration of housing stock and, with specific reference to seniors housing acknowledges the ownership models available can present opportunities for close knit communities,” a planner said.
“In allowing local residents to age in place through providing appropriate seniors housing, detached housing will become available for younger families to occupy.”
It is on public exhibition until March 8.
Meanwhile another massive proposal has also been lodged to transform part of the Newcastle Golf Club at Fern Bay in a bid to address the club’s long-term sustainability issues.
The club currently operates an 18 hole golf course at Vardon Rd and is ranked as the 30th best course in Australia, having been ranked as high as 10th in Australia in the 1980s, but will look to demolish holes 16, 17 and 18 to build a $108 million seniors housing development.
Plans by Principal Living in partnership with developers The Stevens Group indicate 47 single-storey villas, three five-storey apartment buildings with 125 units offering panoramic views overlooking the golf course and Hunter River, a community centre with pool, gym, cinema and bar and more than 300 carparking spaces.
The grand proposal, which has been in the works for eight years, will also cater for plenty of recreational activities including a lawn bowls facility, picnic shelter, and public art space.
In June 2021, Port Stephens Council approved a subdivision to create a 6.57 hectare lot for the retirement village to be built before approval of a new golf course design was given the green light in October last year.
The development application said “the club’s long trading history demonstrated it was not generating sufficient revenues to renew it’s infrastructure and be sustainable in the long term, particularly if the course is to fulfil the club’s vision of being a leading Australian golf club”.
The application also detailed that over the last 18 months, the primary focus had been addressing “significant design considerations” for the redevelopment of the golf course which had been deemed “crucial” to facilitate the land availability for the development.
The “reconfiguration” of the golf course has been described as an “extremely complicated process” but that it provided a “once in a generation opportunity to elevate its standing to be among the very best courses in Australia” and secure its financial future as a community asset.
Already the seniors development proposal has undergone multiple redesigns following concerns relating to Aboriginal cultural heritage with numerous structures removed to make way for a conservation area to house a Keeping Place for Aboriginal Objects.
Other issues that have arisen include biodiversity impacts and traffic but planners have conceded the development is “appropriate for the site”.
“It effectively addresses environmental, social, and economic impacts stemming from the development. Consequently, it aligns with the broader public interest,” they said.
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