Plans for up to 450 units in a retirement village minutes from Stockland Green Hills and medical services is set to shake up East Maitland’s appeal to retirees.
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With public transport past the front door, a private hospital down the road, and a new Lower Hunter Hospital planned in nearby Metford, East Maitland’s appeal to the aged is skyrocketing.
Combine that with the $372 million redevelopment of Stockland Green Hills, which started recently, and you've got yet another reason to call East Maitland home.
The $160 million proposal, if approved, will transform accommodation for people over 55 who want to live in one of Maitland’s most historic suburbs, without the maintenance of a yard, and be surrounded by services.
But the benefits of developer Paul Unicomb’s Hunter Grange Lifestyle Village will not be confined to retirees.
The construction phase will bring at least 150 jobs to the city. Then there will be extra employment for workers trained in aged care and huge flow-on effects for businesses.
Mr Unicomb is in the final stages of finishing a similar retirement village in Aberglasslyn, called Walka Grange Lifestyle Village.
It brought 70 construction jobs to the city and offered retirees two or three bedroom units.
Hunter Grange will be triple the size of Walka Grange and offer prompt access to the Hunter Expressway, the M1 and Newcastle.
The plans show it would eventually line both sides of Mount Vincent Road near Wilton Drive and would have between 300 and 450 units.
Mr Unicomb calls it a lifestyle village that will offer “super seniors living” for the young-at-heart retiree. He is also considering establishing a nursing home on the site.
The existing services in East Maitland, including the revamp of Stockland Greenhills, has no doubt prompted Mr Unicomb to choose the greenfield site.
Although the proposal is yet to be approved by the state government, Mr Unicomb is confident it will proceed because there is demand for it. Maitland’s 2.5 per cent growth rate has left it eager for improved infrastructure, whether it be roads, hospitals or public transport facilities.
The addition of another retirement village will only build more confidence in the city’s economy.
