Becton’s The Woniora village sold by Suncorp to a resi developer - a train crash for the residents and the sector

A train wreck is about to appear on the retirement village sector in Sydney with the news that Suncorp has sold the vacant land next to Becton’s The Woniora village in upmarket Wahroonga. The buyer is the Landmark Group, a local apartment developer. They intend a residential development for the site.
The problem is the twin tower/58 unit T he Woniora village was relying on the land for the final stage of the village to deliver on its contract for community facilities. That will now not occur, leaving the residents with a lounge, and that’s it. They are not happy and they state they will not go quietly.
Expect a very aggressive media campaign to forestall the adjacent development.
The problem for the retirement village sector is the resident contracts included the commitment to deliver the community facilities. The residents intend demonstrating aggressively that a village contract cannot be relied on.
The villain is being painted as Suncorp.
There were at least five retirement village operators keen to buy but their price was about $2 million less than what residential buyers were willing to pay. (The village development required the community facilities promised - requiring funding and reduced floor ratios). Suncorp was extremely aware of the obligation to provide these community facilities but elected to grab the extra $2 million and leave over 70 ageing people short changed on their purchase.
It could well come back to bite Suncorp. Those 70 people paid circa $800,000+ but didn’t get what they contracted. They come from high level business backgrounds and have already engaged with the State resident associations in NSW and QLD to campaign to the media and government. Watch this space.
Behind all of this is Mariner Corporation’s Darren Olney-Fraser, who the purchase village by placing a 5% deposit of $380,000 last September - but did not settle on the due date in late December. In early February Olney-Fraser placed a demand on Suncorp to now settle by 28 February, claiming Mariner had the cash. Inbetween Mariner had placed a caveat over the land.
Informed today of the sale, Olney-Fraser said “Suncorp has sold the land twice, which is curious”. That is not entirely accurate because what Mariner was buying was Becton’s debt with Suncorp, not the land. What is going to happen to the ‘sale’ and the $380,000 will be interesting to watch. The actions of the residents will not.