Tara Murray
A $155 million retirement village is planned for the heart of Kealba.
Ryman Healthcare is planning to transform the six-hectare vacant site at 27 Driscolls Road, Kealba, into an integrated retirement village.
The village will combine independent living villas and a full aged care centre, including specialist dementia care, on a single site for the community.
The village will also include a café, bar, gym, cinema, indoor pool, hair and beauty salons, and a bowling green.
The village is expected to create more than 150 long-term jobs.
The location is the site of the former Kealba Secondary College. In 2019, a developer took plans to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking to build 208 townhouses and units on the site.
At the time, residents were opposed to the scale of the development.
Ryman Australia chief executive Cameron Holland said village would provide urgently needed retirement living options as well as care for retirees in the north-west.
“There is a particularly acute shortage of retirement living and aged care options in the Kealba area so we’re keen to help meet that pressing need in the community.
“We know that retirees looking to downsize don’t want to go just anywhere. They want to be in a great location and remain connected to the family, friends and social networks in their local community.
“This village will give people who’ve lived in Kealba for decades that opportunity, and they deserve nothing less.”
