A BOOM in seniors housing developments in the Hunter shows little sign of slowing down after plans were lodged for a $103 million seniors living village at Wallsend.
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The proposed development, complete with a lagoon pool, tennis court, bowling green and clubhouse, is being assessed by Newcastle council. It features eight, four-storey buildings comprising 223 units on a 28,000 square-metre site near Brickworks Park.
The DA, lodged last month, follows a string of seniors developments announced recently and a stack of projects approved by Hunter councils over the past few years.
In the Lake Macquarie LGA alone, more than $744 million worth of seniors living development has been approved since the start of the 2014/15 financial year.
The council is assessing another six DAs and three DA amendments worth a combined $184 million.
Multiple over 55's sites are at various stages of development in Port Stephens, while in Newcastle a stream of projects have flowed through the council in recent years.
Major projects are planned for Newcastle and Merewether golf clubs and RSL LifeCare's Long Tan Village, a 13-storey development in Newcastle West, will open later this year.
The Wallsend development fronts Victory Parade next to Brickworks Park and has additional access to Newcastle Road.
A previous DA for the site - a $34 million project featuring 230 residential units - was approved by the regional planning panel in 2016.
Wade Morris of SNL Building Constructions, which lodged the new DA on behalf of a private developer, said the projects had similarities but the focus had been switched to seniors living.
"In terms of yield and built form outcome, it's not too dissimilar," he said.
"It's just that they've decided to go down the path of a seniors housing development.
"The main change, really, is just in the target market.
The developer behind the Wallsend project could not be reached by the Newcastle Herald on Tuesday.
Mr Morris said he did not know the reasons behind the shift in focus to a seniors living project, but he said the "village-type" plans differed from an average seniors development as the location offered unique advantages.
"It's a pretty cracking site in terms of the amenity that it's afforded," he said.
"It's got all of that Brickworks Park public open space on that southern boundary.
"You've got Ausgrid next door ... and the light industrial fronting Newcastle Road.
"It's quite a big site. It's not constrained by immediately adjoining any other residential development.
"When you have a look at the site, if you tried to put that built form into a site that was in a more suburban setting with traditional housing on either side you might run into a few issues."
The plans proposes three one-bedroom units, 128 two-bedroom units and 92 three-bedroom units.
The DA was lodged last month. The submission period closed on June 11.
Both the Rural Fire Service and Subsidence Advisory NSW are yet to provide responses to the application.
City of Newcastle will assess the DA and offer a recommendation to the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel, which will provide a determination.
A range of seniors developments have emerged across the Hunter in recent years.
More than $55 million of seniors living DAs have been approved in Port Stephens in the past three years.
However, a council spokesperson said the true investment value in seniors living projects was likely hundreds of millions of dollars more because of how some DAs were classified.
"Development applications are not required to specify what the development will be marketed as," the spokesperson said.
"For example, a DA for a manufactured home estate may later be marketed as an over 55s resort or a residential flat building may be later identified for use by seniors, however this information is not always required as part of the DA process."
Ingenia Lifestyle's $100 million development, Latitude One, opened at Anna Bay last year. Two similar sized projects are being developed nearby.
Two DAs for multi-storey seniors living projects at Salamander Bay have been lodged in recent months.
Medowie has also emerged as a seniors hot spot, led by the $120 million Tallowood Lifestyle Resort under construction.
A City of Newcastle spokesperson said "more than $100 million worth of seniors and retirement living developments, including amendments and alterations to established facilities", had been approved since 2016.