Going up in the world: Benefits of vertical village living

Aura Holdings’ retirement communities are modern, vertical villages constructed in prime locations where residents reside in their own independent-living apartments.

There are major benefits of living in a multi-storey village compared with traditional retirement villages or an over-50s’ lifestyle resort where individual villas are scattered across a large, remote site. One of the most obvious benefits of living in an apartment is the ease of access, particularly if mobility is an issue. Residents can move effortlessly around an air-conditioned vertical village and travel to community facilities via lifts. Compare this to a sprawling broadacre community – some with several hundred individual residences. At night or in severe weather, such as heavy rain or a heatwave, walking long distances to access community facilities can be a hazardous journey for residents.

Aura provides vertical retirement villages in urban areas, such as Kingsford Terrace Corinda or The Atrium Lutwyche, taking advantage of the location’s panoramic city views; or beachside living at The Avenue Maroochydore and The Pavilion North Kirra; or tree change lifestyles within golf courses at Somerset Indooroopilly or The Ninth Middle Ridge at Toowoomba.

Left: The Atrium Lutwyche – Right: The Avenue Maroochydore

Vertical villages require less land so can be built in desirable locations close to facilities and amenities. Today’s retirees want to live in vibrant neighbourhoods where they can readily access cafés, restaurants, shopping and cultural pursuits, with public transport on hand.

Broad-acre villages need to be constructed on large vacant sites on the outskirts of towns or cities. They are often located far from medical services, hospitals and aged-care facilities, making access and travel difficult particularly if you don’t drive and need to visit a partner receiving treatment or in care. Residents can also feel isolated from their family and the friends when they move away from the areas they knew and loved.

Your privacy is also better protected in a vertical village. Residents enjoy a real sense of privacy when they drive into a secure, underground carpark and take the lift up to their apartment, compare this with a large, lifestyle community with kilometres of narrow roadways where everyone seems to know the movements of other residents and their visitors.

Security can also be better controlled in a vertical village where there are fewer entrances and apartments usually only have one point of entry. Apartments offer a lock and leave lifestyle without the maintenance of gardens, however, if you wish to keep plants your apartment’s balconies will provide plenty of space for an array of pots. Most Aura villages also have community gardens which are very popular with our green-thumbed residents.

Several residents have chosen to live in an Aura village after previously downsizing to vertical living in a traditional residential development. While a low-maintenance apartment provides many benefits, these residents experienced negative aspects such as sharing their space with renters, Airbnb holidaymakers and young families.

A residential building also won’t provide you with a village manager to assist when issues arise and you will be responsible for the maintenance and repairs inside your apartment.

Freehold apartment owners can be left to foot the bill in the unfortunate event of poor-quality construction, but residents of a vertical retirement village are protected under legislation. If any issues arrive the village operator must take all financial responsibility to rectify construction flaws. As the building owner and operator, retirement living providers are responsible for all maintenance through the lifecycle of the building so it is in Aura Holdings’ best interest to ensure construction is to a very high standard.

Display apartments at The Atrium Lutwyche

Retirement villages have a general services charge (GSC) that covers the maintenance of facilities, gardens, common areas, apartments, building insurance, common electricity and water, and council rates. Unlike body corporate fees there are no special levies, and fees cannot be raised without approval of the residents’ committee. Retirement village operators are not allowed to profit from the GSC.

Deposits at Aura retirement apartments are fully refundable unlike the purchase of a residential apartment. This can prove costly if your circumstances change during the course of construction. Residents of a retirement village apartment also don’t pay stamp duty.

Vertical living has been hailed as the future for retirees but it’s already the lifestyle choice of Aura residents. If you are looking for a more connected, secure yet private lifestyle in a prime location with amazing communal facilities, we are sure you will find your perfect apartment at one of our current or under construction villages.

For more information about living at The Atrium Lutwyche or Aura Holdings’ Resident Transfer Program, please call (07) 3357 9092 or email live@theatriumlutwyche.com.au