Footscray Urbanlife Resort at former Little Saigon Market site to capture new wave of retirees

For seven years the iconic Little Saigon Market has sat idle after being badly damaged in a fire — but work has started to revamp the long-neglected site.

New details of the Footscray Urbanlife Resort set to be built at the old Little Saigon Market site can be revealed.

The words ‘retirement village’ will be forbidden from a new resort in Footscray, as developers say the “new wave” of Baby Boomers want to remain in the thick of urban living while having support at their fingertips.

The Footscray Urbanlife Resort, which will be built at the site of the former Little Saigon Market, is gaining significant momentum with developers revealing a timeline on how soon residents could move in.

Demolition work of Little Saigon Market — which burnt down in 2016 — commenced about six weeks ago, after Urbanlife undertook its pre-works contract.

It follows concerns from residents and the Footscray state Labor MP Katie Hall that the suburb’s reputation was being tarnished as ‘land banking’ saw buildings deteriorate into “bombsites”.

The Footscray Urbanlife Resort for over 55s will be built at the site of former westside institution, Little Saigon.

The demolition stage is now finalised with most of the old material recycled.

Developers will now look to transition from a building permit to a planning permit and begin civil works and construction of the basement, a process they expect to take four months.

By the end of this year, Urbanlife plans to start “building up” with hopes of opening in late 2025 or early 2026.

Co-founder and chief operating officer, Charissa Harrison said the western suburbs were the most undersupplied in terms of retirement villages despite Footscray and the surrounding areas being home to one of the largest ageing populations in Melbourne.

Urban Life’s Charissa Harrison.

“Vertical retirement living is fast becoming the current trend as the expectations of Baby Boomers are far greater than previous generations, they want everything at their fingertips,” Ms Harrison said.

“In order to build in established suburbs where they can be close to urban amenities, we have to build up due to land availability ... it also adds a high level of comfort in terms of community, safety and security.

“Our retirement living resorts have a hotel and hospitality style offering rather than traditional retirement and aged care.”

Facilities are expected to include a cinema, gym, pilates studio, spa rooms, BBQ Cabanas, virtual golf, and much more.

She envisaged that Urbanlife’s resort will attract the “new wave” of retirees, who only want to downsize once.

The project will be built across two towers — one 11-storeys and the other seven-storeys.

It will feature 227 over-55s lifestyle apartments with state-of-art interiors and facilities.

The ground floor will include a vast commercial space with retail, markets and open restaurants.

According to Urbanlife, the ‘baby Boomer’ retirement market is set to triple from 3 million to 9.5 million by 2066.

Current plans include a fourth floor ‘rooftop podium’ with a plethora of amenities including a cinema, virtual golf, gym, pilates studio, spa rooms, BBQ cabanas, gardens, piano bar, library with a fireplace and medical rooms.

The resort will also include a concierge with 24-hour security and a car park for every apartment.

Urbanlife Resorts will aim to offer ‘ageing-in-place’ care options for residents who may need care upon arrival or in the future – all from the comfort of their home.

The current range includes 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with balconies and views of the CBD, Footscray Park and the Maribyrnong River.