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GemLife Woodend is a new over 50’s estate located in Victoria. Designed for over-50’s downsizers and retirees, GemLife Woodend is a house and land project which Gemlife call a ‘resort’ as it includes a vast array of additional facilities for use by the owners/residents. The resort offers a wide variety of home designs and floorplan layouts, all in two and three-bedroom configurations. Priced from $475,000, GemLife Woodend is for downsizers and retirees who want a country lifestyle close to the city, given the exceptional location of the project: any amenity that a resident could need is only a few minutes away in the local town centre, and the Melbourne CBD is just 60 minutes from the estate.
Some will call it a retirement village and you certainly buy a home in this project and stay in it until you move to a high care facility (eg nursing home), but ‘retirement home’ perhaps has connotations that just don’t sit well with us when we are describing this project. The project is just too lively and focused on resident’s well-being for it to be in any way similar to a traditional retirement village.
Projects Facts:
GemLife Woodend is one of the most expansive over-50’s retirement communities north-west of Melbourne. The new retirement village is focused on creating a sense of community between residents, which is evident in the facilities on offer and its great location, which gives residents the best of a small town within driving distance of a big city. The pet-friendly development is designed for the over-50’s community, with a focus on downsizers and retirees who are looking for a home in which they can “age in place”. This means that residents can live in the gated community until the point where they have to move into the hospital or alternative high care facility.
GemLife Woodend is a bit different to other GemLife estates, given its distance from the Melbourne CBD. In our opinion, this distance is a major bonus for the residents, as they will get to enjoy the famously tight-knit community in the Woodend area. The estate is within easy driving distance of Melbourne, meaning day trips down to see friends and family is an easy option.
There are 12 different home designs buyers can choose between at GemLife Woodend. All of the homes come in two- or three-bedroom configurations, which give residents the space they need to enjoy their retirement without being so massive they become unmanageable.
Again unlike the older traditional retirement village model, GemLife does not charge entry or exit fees, providing financial transparency and certainty for home buyers. There is also no stamp duty, and homeowners also retain 100% of capital gains when they come to sell. Essentially, this gives residents and their children far more financial freedom when it does come time to sell and will ensure that buyers and their descendants don’t become embroiled in the DMF (deferred management fee) scandals that have become very public recently.
As a side note: residents can expect to have white winters occasionally! It’s been known to snow in GemLife Woodend, which all Australian’s will know is a very magical event to see. The most recent snow day was back in August 2019.
There are a number of display homes at GemLife Woodend. The display homes are open daily during set hours, or by appointment. If you’d like to make an appointment please use the enquiry form below.
JULY 2020: July marks the opening of GemLife Woodend’s lakeside country club.
APRIL 2020: Stage One of GemLife Woodend is nearly sold out, with construction continuing. Stage Two is now selling and is currently being built-out to cater to local demand for move-in-ready homes. Construction on Stage Two is expected to be complete from June through to the end of the year. Civil works are progressing at Stage Three, with Stages Four, Five and Six expected to follow shortly. The resort’s lakeside country club is also under construction and is currently expected to finish on time.
Located at 1849 Mount Macedon Road, Woodend, GemLife Woodend sits close to the Calder Freeway, one of the main roads running through this area that also connects straight through to the Melbourne CBD. Using the freeway it should take residents just under an hour to reach the CBD by car, and about an hour and a half by train. The Melbourne Airport is 40 minutes down the road, making the estate ideal for those who travel occasionally for work or leisure.
If you’re feeling peckish or want to get a spot of shopping done, the nearby High Street is home to all of the activity in Woodend. Residents will find everything from the local post office to a fish & chips joint along the busy street, along with the Woodend Train Station, a vet, a number of restaurants, the local RSL, and grocery stores, to name but a few of the options around. The proximity of the estate to this shopping and leisure area is a major plus, as everything is only about three minutes drive away.
If you’re looking to relax, then Woodend is definitely the place to be. There are more than nine spas and beauty salons within 20 minutes of the estate, including the highly-acclaimed Maiaveda Wellness Spa and the local favourite Ripple Dalesford Massage (a mobile spa and beauty service which comes to your home). If you’d like to relax in a more active manner, then the Woodend Golf Club and Golf Course are six minutes away. Five Mile Creek Reserve, which is just two minutes up the road, is home to several walking paths and is popular with locals as a site for hosting impromptu BBQ parties with friends and family.
If you want to buy into an estate that has literally everything you might possibly need, the Woodend is where you should be looking.
Sporting facilities at the resort include a gym, heated indoor pool, golf simulator, floodlit tennis court, bocce court, and pickleball court. If you’re more into the arts, then you might enjoy using the arts and crafts studio, music room, resident workshop, or the theatrical stage and dressing rooms. If you just need to relax by yourself, then GemLife Woodend also has you covered: residents have access to a sauna, heated indoor spa, hairdressing salon and beauty parlour, a library, cinema, and wine room. If you’ve got friends over, we’d recommend checking out the ten-pin bowling alley, games and entertainment room, commercial-grade kitchen, BBQ facilities or the bar and coffee lounge. And if none of those facilities appeal to you, you can always mosey on down to the grand ballroom, consulting room, or dog off-leash area.
Getting around is easy with the resort shuttle bus and buggy available for resident’s use. Extra caravan and boat storage is also available.
Residents will also benefit from the added security that comes with gated entry to the estate with number plate recognition.
The 12 house designs available at GemLife Woodend come in two or three-bedroom configurations. The houses all also have a double garage, two bathrooms, a dedicated laundry room, and extra storage. Every home is finished in neutral colours such as brown, tan, grey and white, giving the whole estate a modern aesthetic. A number of the homes have alternate facades, which allows buyers a greater degree of creativity.
There are 12 different house designs currently on offer at GemLife Woodend. The homes come in two and three-bedroom configurations, although all have two bathrooms and a double garage. While the layouts of the houses vary between floor plans (as you can see in the floor plan renders below), there are a number of similarities across the designs. Every home has a proper entryway, which is always lovely to see as it will help to give residents not only a visual reminder that they are home, but a place to keep all of their coats, muddy shoes, and bags.
All of the main living areas have 2.7-metre high ceilings, which is slightly more than average. Ducted air-conditioning comes standard, as does a high-quality carpet in the bedrooms. The kitchen is designed to be both functional and great for entertaining, with the island bench connecting the space to the open-plan living and dining areas, and a butlers pantry off to the side (a great feature!). There is also a separate laundry area which is large enough to be functional.
The separation of bedrooms is another nice feature. Even though these homes are targeted at over 50’s, have one or two spare rooms are quite separate and will function very well for grandchildren and guests as there is a natural divide from the living spaces
There are five new colour schemes available at GemLife Woodend, all of which will ensure that the houses are completed with neutral interior finishes such as in white, grey or brown. This allows the homes to diffuse light throughout (especially given the 2.7-metre-high ceilings), and allows buyers to decorate so their homes reflect them and what they love.
In the kitchens, all the appliances are Smeg and are stainless steel, as is the sink. The kitchen benches are 20mm stone (with 40mm edges). Depending on the interior colour scheme chosen, the kitchen will have either a stone, glass or ceramic tile splashback.
Solar panels can be installed.
GemLife Woodend has been created with owner-occupiers in mind, and as such is not to be considered for investment purposes.
GemLife Woodend is a new project by GemLife, a new Australian developer who focuses on over-50s living. They have several projects throughout Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.
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