Vaucluse Seniors Scheme Adds Affordable, Triples Yield

A controversial and long-delayed boutique retirement village in Sydney’s well-heeled Vaucluse has more than tripled in yield and almost quintupled in cost after securing access to the Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

SEARS have been requested for the $155-million project at 669-683 Old South Head Road, with 82 senior living units and 21 affordable homes proposed.

Since being given the HDA treatment, the project has grown from a $34-million, 31-home version approved in 2024.

The proponent, OSHR at Vaucluse Holdings Pty Ltd, is jointly owned by Meissen Properties IB and Aquavenus Investment, both of Rose Bay. The sole director is Kam Yun Au-Yeung.

The latest application proposes three buildings of 6.5, 7.5 and 9.5 storeys, with architectural work by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates of New York, while the 2024 iteration proposed just two four-storey buildings. 

The 4345sq m site is 7km east of the Sydney CBD, on the fringe of the Rose Bay North Town Centre, and would yield gross floor area of 12,837sq m at a floor space ratio of 2.95:1. 

▲ The projecthas grown from a $34-million, 31-home version approved in 2024.

Currently split across zoning for a local town centre and medium-density residential, the proposal seeks to unify controls across the site, while increasing height and density limits.

The senior living apartments would be split between one, two and three-bedroom units. A 20 per cent affordable component would yield the 21 homes for key workers, to be managed by a community housing provider for a minimum of 15 years.

Four basement levels would provide parking for 128 cars, while 220sq m would be dedicated to retail space with frontage to Oceanview Avenue.

Affordability, ageing a challenge at Waverley

Approval was also granted in 2019 for a four-storey, 16 apartment building, and in 2021 for a 37-apartment senior living project, over the opposition of then-councillor Will Nemesh.

Nemesh, now mayor of Waverley Council, led a motion at Tuesday’s council meeting to acquire two affordable homes in the local government area, to support those fleeing domestic violence.

“We know affordability is a significant challenge for many people in Waverley, and we will continue to provide practical solutions to help ease those burdens where we can,” Nemesh said.

“We are committed to tackling the major issues affecting our community and providing dedicated support to our most vulnerable residents.”

▲ Key workers and seniors would live together in the proposed complex on Old South Head Read.

In March 2025, the council also made its largest affordable housing acquisition in 20 years, picking up the six-apartment building at 49 Mitchell Street at Bondi. Under Nemesh’s mayorship, the council has increased its affordable portfolio by 50 per cent, adding 12 homes.

A 2023 HOPE Housing report, in conjunction with University of Sydney urban planning professor Nicole Gurran, found that the Eastern Suburbs lost 11 per cent of its essential workers between 2016 and 2021—the highest in Sydney or Melbourne.

The Bondi Junction Master Plan, due to be exhibited in May, is expected to place an emphasis on housing. Currently, 80 per cent of the Waverley local government area’s housing is in Bondi Junction.

In January, Uniting NSW.ACT won approval for a $500-million senior living project at 125 Birrell Street, Waverley. That project will yield 231 independent living apartments, a 105-place residential aged care facility, and 23 affordable homes alongside the existing War Memorial Hospital.