Toowoomba’s Clive Armitage sells Kingfisher Gardens retirement village to Hometown Australia through Ray White

One of Toowoomba’s most celebrated philanthropists has sold his longstanding retirement resort to the Aussie arm of a major American developer in a lucrative transaction.

The Australian arm of a massive US retirement resort developer has expanded its foray into Toowoomba, having snapped up a prominent philanthropist’s longstanding development.

Hometown Australia, a division of Hometown America, has been revealed as the buyer of Clive Armitage’s 20-year-old Kingfisher Gardens on Spring St in Kearneys Spring.

The resort is already home to hundreds of residents and includes a heated indoor swimming pool, outdoor lawn bowls rink and function facilities including a commercial kitchen and meeting rooms.

While the final amount for the sale has not been revealed, figures on RPData put the value of the 4.8ha freehold land at $8.6m — one of Toowoomba’s top transactions of 2023.

Clive Armitage's Kingfisher Gardens retirement village on Spring Street in Kearneys Spring has been listed for sale through Ray White Commercial in Toowoomba.

The deal came after Ray White Commercial’s campaign drew more than 140 inquiries from across Australia, leading to nine serious offers for the existing land and dwellings.

Selling agent Peter Marks said the property was part of Hometown Australia’s move into Toowoomba, with the company having bought an existing over-50s resort on Bridge St in Wilsonton for a staggering $25m in 2021.

Clive Armitage's Kingfisher Gardens retirement village on Spring Street in Kearneys Spring has been listed for sale through Ray White Commercial in Toowoomba.

“They’ve got the opportunity to add another 10 units at Kingfisher, and it shows there’s a development upside — I’m sure they’ll take advantage of it,” he said.

Hometown Australia has since lodged an application with the Toowoomba Regional Council to expand the Bridge St site by another 60 homes.

Mr Marks said the development was a credit to Mr Armitage’s vision for the Garden City.

“The thing that was interesting (about Kingfisher) is the legacy that the Armitages have left is great — it was ahead of its time, it’s magnificent,” he said.

“He’s provided homes for so many people and about 90 of them are owned by residents.”

Hometown Australia has been criticised in the past for some of its business practices, with some residents at other resorts accusing the company of coercing them into accepting higher rents.