AXA IM Alts commits to £115m Thrive senior living scheme
AXA IM Alts-owned developer Retirement Villages Group has committed to a £115m GDV later living development on a 1.5-acre former cinema site in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
The site, which has been derelict for more than two decades, will operate under the developer’s Thrive Living brand. McAleer & Rushe has been appointed as the main contractor.
The development will provide 167 retirement homes, having gained planning approval last year. Its gross internal area will measure 210,000 sq ft and include a café, restaurant, courtyard garden and almost 10,000 sq ft of retail frontage along Mount Pleasant and Church Road.
AXA IM Alts-owned developer Retirement Villages Group has committed to a £115m GDV later living development on a 1.5-acre former cinema site in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
The site, which has been derelict for more than two decades, will operate under the developer’s Thrive Living brand. McAleer & Rushe has been appointed as the main contractor.
The development will provide 167 retirement homes, having gained planning approval last year. Its gross internal area will measure 210,000 sq ft and include a café, restaurant, courtyard garden and almost 10,000 sq ft of retail frontage along Mount Pleasant and Church Road.
It will be developed as a whole-life net zero carbon project, in line with the RVG’s stated aim to provide a 20% net-increase in biodiversity onsite. It will be the third Thrive Living development on site, following projects in Chester and West Byfleet.
The Thrive Living concepts are situated at the heart of town centres to provide the older generation with the option to enjoy in-town living, being part of a wider urban community.
Will Bax, chief executive at RVG, said: “Thrive Living is a step-change in the way we should think about later life. We intend to challenge the stereotypes of vulnerability, loneliness and dependency and replace them with a new narrative. Modern retirement living needs to reflect the attitudes of a new generation of elders, who want to live with purpose and embrace the opportunities of connected and sociable living, creating their own active, urban community in an existing town setting.”
He added that the development served as an “opportunity to revive this space and build a vital, open community” in the heart of town.
See also: RVG launches £2bn Thrive Living plans
Image © Glass Canvas
