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Luxury living combines intelligent design with a social edge

Luxury living combines intelligent design with a social edgeWant to practice your longshot in your back yard? How about enjoying a fine art exhibition in your lobby? Perhaps you would prefer to get fit in your own indoor pool or enjoy the use of state-of-the art technology? These are the optional extras people are seeking in retirement communities – it’s about luxury living with a social edge.

It doesn’t seem long ago that a home theatre, a spa bath in the en-suite, or even a walk-in wardrobe were the extravagant extras that turned a house into a dream home. Today’s, active and vibrant retirees are looking for more than just a place to rest a weary head – they want to live among the finer things of life, enjoy learning new skills and feel part of a community.

“There’s no doubt, that with the ageing population in Australia, the demand for both high quality and diverse retirement living options is increasing,” says Alison Quinn, Executive General Manager of Retirement at FKP. “The demographics supporting this increase are irrefutable. “With the over-65 age group growing at double the rate of the rest of the population we anticipate demand will continue into the long term.”

Ms Quinn says, the drawcard to retirement village living, and the key point of differentiation from remaining in the family home, is the social connectivity within retirement communities. Most villages have a community centre that forms the heart of the village and their emphasis is on providing high grade amenities to enrich lives.

“Many of our villages have indoor pools, theatre rooms and libraries,” Ms Quinn explains. “Men’s sheds and communal veggie gardens have become increasingly popular. “An interesting recent trend has been the increasing desire of our residents to learn new skills, be that computer skills to remain connected with friends or family, or a new language. “Growing older is not an excuse to stop learning and this is the key to social engagement.”

As with all property developments, quality and flexibility is critical to remaining competitive. Good facilities are certainly something that makes retirement living appealing. The size of a village and its proximity to facilities within the surrounding community often determines what is desired by residents. For example, Aveo’s village on the Sunshine Coast – Aveo Peregian Springs Country Club adjoins a golf course, and the village has complimentary recreational facilities including an outdoor bowls green and pool for our residents to enjoy. Many innercity villages have facilities synonymous with inner-city apartments such as indoor lap-pools, gyms and roof-top terraces with BBQ areas or concierge services.

“A key to success in the future will be the ability of retirement villages to provide a greater range of services to our residents, to meet their social and emotional needs as well as their physical needs,” Ms Quinn says.

Michael Eggington, Managing Director Retirement Living at Lend Lease, which has high quality retirement villages throughout Australia, New Zealand and America, says the overarching trend in the provision of luxury is to integrate sustainability, technology and furniture into the fabric of the home, enabling better use of compact liveable spaces.

“We believe designer features in the current market are moving towards lifestyle elements with the need to provide facilities and services that focus on wellness, quality of life and a broader range of interests that include travel and wealth creation. “We find Australian retirees place more value on a level of common areas for organised recreational activities and facilities that are conducive to informal exercise, like walking.”

“We believe designer features in the current market are moving towards lifestyle elements with the need to provide facilities and services that focus on wellness, quality of life and a broader range of interests that include travel and wealth creation.” – Michael Eggington, Lend Lease

Luxury living combines intelligent design with a social edgeMr Eggington adds that social connectedness is the most sought after attribute retirees are wanting, and the trend is to seek this ideal lifestyle within close proximity to their current community. Lendlease’s showcase property’s The Brighton on Bay in Melbourne, Little Bay in New South Wales and Elliot Gardens on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula are examples. Victoria’s Martha’s Point, which was crowned best retirement development at the 2012 Property Council of Australia’s National Innovation and Excellence Awards is set on around 6.1 hectares with the hub of the village being an impressive community centre housing a range of exclusive facilities including an indoor heated swimming pool and spa, gymnasium, bowling green, tennis courts, library and craft room. It’s described as a premium retirement village community that fosters a sense of belonging, while returning social, economic and environmental benefit to residents, staff, the broader community and partners while combining the best in architecturally designed homes Operating under the Aveo brand, FKP has the majority of its villages in well located CBD suburbs such Kew in Melbourne, Clayfield in Brisbane and Mosman in Sydney.

“We find that when our residents move they want to stay close to their ‘home’ to where they have lived for most of their lives, so the demographic of our residents is also largely driven by the socio economic demographic of the local area,” Ms Quinn says.

“While we have some villages located in retiree ‘hot spots’ such as the Sunshine and Gold Coasts and NSW’s scenic south coast where retirees often make a ‘sea change’, we find that the majority of residents actually prefer to retire within the vicinity of where they have lived, to be close to family, friends and familiar surroundings. “Australia, New Zealand and the USA have the most sophisticated retirement living business models. “With corporates such as FKP Property Group, Stockland and Lend Lease operating in the retirement space, the asset class has been institutionalised and the benefits of this have flowed through to our residents. “That said, we are always looking at ways to enhance the living environment and communities that our residents enjoy, so it’s not a static property asset in any sense.”

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Alana Lowes

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