Goodwin Aged Care Services took a risk to develop The Central outside Canberra’s established areas, but reimagining retirement has catalysed an entire community.
The Central, designed by AMC Architecture and owned by Goodwin Aged Care Services, was presented with the Rider Levett Bucknall ACT Development of the Year award last week in Canberra.
The Central is located in the suburb of Crace in Gungahlin, and is a mixed-use development on a compact 1.2-hectare site.
The development features apartment and townhouse living, as well as a central clubhouse and ground level commercial tenancies that support both residents and the wider community.
“As Canberra’s population grows and ages, it is essential that our retirement living sector is enabled to provide a diverse range of housing choices for Canberrans looking to ‘rightsize’ in locations that are connected and underpinned by placemaking principles,” says the Property Council’s ACT executive director Adina Cirson.
“Goodwin took a risk to develop The Central outside of an established area, and in doing so has shown how retirement living can be the catalyst for an entire community,” Cirson explains.
“Co-located within the shopping precinct, Goodwin and AMC have designed a model which offers privacy and independence – residents each have their own street address – within a supportive community with services close to hand to meet their changing needs.”
According to AMC Architecture, the development offers residents “a range of housing choices and, unlike many such developments, their own front door”.
This is the second time Goodwin has taken home the RLB ACT Development of the Year Award, again supported by AMC.
The Central is now vying for the Aurex Group Award for Best Retirement Living Development at the national awards in Sydney on Friday 17 May.
The ACT Development of the Year award is part of the national 2019 Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards program.
RLB has partnered with the Property Council to present the awards program since its inception in 1982.
Check out the companies competing in 20 categories at the national Property Council of Australia / Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation & Excellence Awards.