Ryman Healthcare has been given the go-ahead to proceed with a second retirement village in Australia's second largest city, with the first residents at the new Melbourne site expected to move in next year.
Christchurch-based Ryman's plan to build a new village at Brandon Park in Melbourne was last night approved by the City of Monash and preliminary work will now begin, the company said in a statement. The village will be Ryman's second across the Tasman and will house more than 700 retirees with 94 serviced apartments, 328 independent units and 199 aged care rooms.
"We've already had keen interest from 350 potential residents," managing director Simon Challies said. "Our construction team has been gearing up to get started and we will begin work right away."
Ryman owns and operates 31 villages in New Zealand and Australia and invested a record $272 million in new villages, innovation and upgrades to existing villages in the six months ended September 30, 2016. It plans to build five villages across the Tasman by 2020 and has three currently in the design phase.
The shares fell 0.6 per cent to $8.35, having increased 3.6 per cent so far this year