CEO refutes claims about Montefiore St Ives development

Further to yesterday’s article, opponents of a proposed Montefiore retirement living development in St Ives are largely acting on misinformation about the project, according to the organisation’s CEO Robert Orie.

The Jewish aged care provider has lodged a State Significant Development application with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for a seniors living campus on surplus land behind Masada College on Link Road.

The proposal has prompted an online campaign from some residents, who argue that the development would be out of scale with the surrounding neighbourhood and set a precedent for high-rise buildings in an area largely characterised by low-rise housing.

Planning documents outline a project comprising 143 independent living apartments and a residential aged care facility of about 50 beds, with shared amenities including a pool, gym and cinema. The proposal includes two nine-storey buildings and two five-storey buildings with basement parking.

The development would occupy about 1.5 hectares of land currently used as a former school oval. Montefiore has an agreement with Masada College to purchase the site if planning approval is granted, with funds from the sale intended to support improvements to the school’s facilities.

Some residents campaigning against the project have cited concerns about the building’s height, traffic congestion, parking pressure, and the loss of green space.

In a social media post circulated by campaigners, a local resident argued that the proposal would introduce a building scale not previously seen in the suburb.

“The nine-storey buildings will set a precedent in St Ives,” she wrote.

Orie refuted this stating the towers will be positioned deep within the site and largely hidden from neighbouring streets.

He also said Montefiore had made significant efforts to inform nearby residents and address concerns about the proposal.

He said the organisation held consultation meetings with residents living closest to the site in College Crescent, organised a public drop-in informatiohn session at St. Ives Showground, and hosted an online webinar so residents could ask questions about the development.

Around 2000 information leaflets were delivered to surrounding households inviting people to attend the sessions.

“We wanted people to come along because there has been a lot of misinformation circulating online about the development,” Orie said.

Despite the online campaign, he said relatively few residents attended the consultation events.

“We had two couples from College Crescent at one meeting, one couple at another, two people who came to the Saturday drop-in session and six participants joined the webinar,” he said.

Orie said several claims circulating online about the proposal were incorrect.

“The nine-storey component of the development is located at the back of the site and is not visible from College Crescent or Link Road,” he said.

He said the buildings closest to neighbouring homes would be lower in height and set further back from the street.

“The proposed five-storey buildings along College Crescent have a generous setback from the boundary, and the top floor is also set back, so from the street they present as four-storey buildings.”

Orie said technical planning studies showed the development would not overshadow nearby homes.

“There is no overshadowing of the houses in College Crescent apart from some minor overshadowing of front yards at the worst day and time of the year,” he said.

“The overshadowing does not extend to the front windows of those homes.”

He also rejected claims that the project would remove an active sports field.

“The oval has not been used for sporting activities by Masada College for years,” he said.

Students now use other sporting facilities, he said, although the area is sometimes used informally by students at lunchtime.

Residents have also raised concerns about traffic impacts, but according to Orie, early modelling suggests the project will have minimal effects on local roads.

“Initial traffic studies indicate that we will have minimal impact on traffic in the area,” he said.

The development includes 280 basement car-parking spaces and a shared traffic flow arrangement between Link Road and College Crescent designed to distribute vehicle movements.

Importantly, all larger delivery and service vehicles will access the site from Link Road rather than residential streets.

Orie said the project had also been designed to address a gap in local housing options for older residents.

While several residential aged care facilities already operate in the broader area, he said there was a severe shortage of independent retirement living accommodation.

“There is a decent supply of residential aged care in the area, but there is a severe shortage of quality seniors housing in the form of independent living units,” he said.

Montefiore’s proposal includes a smaller residential aged care facility alongside the retirement apartments to support what Orie described as an integrated model of care.

“We have included a modest residential aged care facility of around 50 beds so residents can age in place and remain connected throughout their ageing journey,” he said.

Orie said the approach follows the same integrated retirement living and aged care model used at Montefiore’s Randwick campus, which he said has proved successful for residents.

“This is particularly important for couples living independently where one partner may eventually require residential aged care.”

Orie said some opposition appeared to reflect general resistance to taller buildings rather than the specifics of the proposal.

“I think some people see the words ‘nine storeys’ in a suburban location and object without really understanding the facts of the development,” he said.

The State Significant Development application will be assessed by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, with further opportunities for public comment expected once the environmental impact statement is released.