Aged CareClare BurnettThu 30 Apr 26
IRT Greenlit for 240-Bed Wollongong Seniors Project
Retirement and aged care specialist IRT has been greenlit for the $122-million redevelopment of its Woonona Place precinct in the Ilawarra.
The redevelopment approved by the NSW Government includes an upgraded aged care and new independent living facility to increase the precunct capacity to 240 residents.
It includes the refurbishment and upgrade of the 100-bed Flame Tree Residential Care Home as well as 92 new independent living residences at 4-6 Popes Road at Woonona, a northern coastal suburb of Wollongong, 82km south of Sydney CBD.
The independent living units will be delivered in five buildings, while the existing Flame Tree Residential Care Home will undergo a significant refurbishment.
A heritage-listed church on site will be adaptively reused into a restaurant for residents.
IRT submitted its plans via the State Significant Development pathway in July 2025. The plans went on public exhibition in August 2025. Determination took eight months.
The plans detail 4 one, 44 two and 50 three-bedroom units across the quintet of apartment buildings.
Developer and operator IRT is planning a new basement level and at-grade parking for 182 cars, according to plans by architectual firm Calderflower.
IRT chief executive Ross Gallagher said the development responded to a “clear change” in expectations from older Australians.
“Today’s retirees are more active, independent, design-conscious and focused on lifestyle than ever before,” he said.
“They’re looking for communities that support connection, wellbeing and choice—not just care—and that’s exactly what Woonona Place has been designed to deliver.”
Gallagher said the redevelopment aimed to “set a new benchmark for seniors’ living” in regional NSW and reflected IRT’s long-term commitment to the Illawarra.
“Woonona Place reflects a broader evolution in how people live as they age, moving away from traditional models and towards vibrant, lifestyle-led communities that prioritise quality, connection and ageing in place,” he said.
The cost of works for the project is $122 million, according to the original plans.
IRT said a principal contractor would be appointed soon and that construction was expected to begin later this year.
It joins a similar IRT project in Wollongong, the $112-million upgrade of its Towradgi Park seniors precinct, plans for which were submitted last year.
