Victorian couple choose apartment living over a retirement village

At the LEADERS SUMMIT it was discussed that the modern apartment building is the real challenge to retirement villages.

To prove our point, the Knox Leader, a local Melbourne newspaper, gave an extensive article last week to Norma and David Trill who have bought into the Kubix apartments tower. They “opted for a two-bedroom apartment after deciding there were too young for a retirement village”.

Mr Trill said “we are able to walk across a road to Westfield Knox, where we are part of walking group, and have easy access to various other activities such as tenpin bowling and aerobics…. And the fact is it is a well secured building (which) is important”.
Sounds like a retirement village to me except it has no village manager. However in the article above Luke Greive of Telstra Health tells us Mr and Mrs Trill can have an eConceirge. And the government is going to provide enhanced home care services so that the Trills will be set all set up.

It is likely the Kubix apartment block will evolve into a NORC that could well overcome the isolation, loneliness and depression mentioned in the last story. Apartments with a ‘care concierge’ we believe is in fact the real challenge for retirement villages today unless the sector more aggressively presents its value proposition.