By Tania Phillips
The Arcadia Developments Over 50s Lifestyle Resort at Stanthorpe has moved a step closer with contractors expected to be announced soon.
Arcadia Estate National Sales Manager Dianne Fielding said the company hopes to be onsite by the end of the month and have the nine display homes started by late January at the Torrisi Terrace site, and are looking to employ as many locals as possible.
The company plans to build a resort with 90 residences and a country club aimed at allowing over 50s to retire and to age “in place”.
“We’re in negotiation with the civil contractors to see who is going to start the job,” Dianne said.
“We are hoping to be on-site by the end of the month.
“We then anticipate it will take a few months to get everything ready to build the homes. Hopefully construction will start in late January and we’ll start building the nine displays so people can see each type of home we’ve got offered and make their decision on where they would like to live.”
The group had been looking around for several years for a suitable country site to develop a resort.
“All developers decide to go to the city because it’s an easy sell,” Dianne, who is originally from the Stanthorpe area, said.
However she said that on a visit back to the area many locals expressed a need for a facility like this in the region.
“They want to go into a lifestyle resort but they don’t want to go live in Toowoomba or Brisbane,” she said.
“Their friends, their whole network is here in the country so we started to really think about it.
“We got very good feedback about building something up there from people in the surrounding district.
“There are also a lot of people who to retire to Stanthorpe and around Stanthorpe – traditionally from Brisbane, and there are still a lot from Brisbane, but there is now people from the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast who are retiring up there.
“They want a true four-season lifestyle and they want to live in a country atmosphere – just a simpler life.
“Stanthorpe is a tourist town and it has a lot to offer.”
Dianne said they are also very focused on what they’re going to build so it is unique to the area.
“What we are building in Stanthorpe is a French Country design,” she said.
“It has a bit of an old, a bit of new feel about it so it fits in with the country landscape and future ones we build we will theme them for the areas.
“All our resorts will be one off and won’t be repeated at the next place that we go to.”
The resort will feature 90 homes and a Country Club with all of the facilities including a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, spa, yoga room, gymnasium, cinema and a games room.
“We will also have a library section and a small café which will have a commercial kitchen with a bar area, coffee shop and we’ll have a chef on site who can put out menus if people want to go for morning tea, breakfast or lunch or the occasional dinner as well,” Dianne said.
“The meals are not supplied but it will be like a proper café lounge area where they can go meet friends if they want to, have afternoon tea.
“Outside the building we have a tennis, bocce and croquet court – there will also be parking available for RV homes and caravans.”
