Property Council Retirement Living National Design Award Winner for 2019 - The Benson, Toorak

The Benson Toorak has been awarded the Property Council of Australia National Retirement Living Design Award 2019.  The jury citation noted that:

'The Benson is an outstanding example of how the next generation of retirement communities are confronting the dual challenge of demand driven by demography, and tightening supply of suitable land in established areas with ageing communities.  Located on smaller sites, they must address the higher levels of sensitivity around development in these established areas, while meeting the technical requirements for these complex integrated developments.  The Benson shows how these challenges can be met, while delivering a substantial community dividend'.

This project was the best kind of community effort.  The project helped fund the restoration of a church, created a new community of residents, and funded a new community facility for the wider parish.

The team at the St Peter’s parish is to be commended for their vision, in particular Father Brendan Hayes, John Ralph AC, and Anthony Prowse.

Together with the other members of the initiating committee, they had the foresight to see this development as something that is more than just a building.

They saw it as a collegiate style of environment that provided a setting for parish’s much loved Gothic church.

They also fully supported the need for a complex that respected and built on the character of the surrounding area.

Thanks to their persistence, the vision has been achieved, and we're pleased to see this acknowledged with the Property Council Award.  We thank the Property Council and the awards jury for this honour.

Notes About the Award

The Property Council of Australia National Retirement Living National Design Award is the premier Australian award recognizing design in this sector, drawing from a shortlist of recently completed retirement developments across Australia.  In 2019, 8 developments were shortlisted from the field of submissions:

The Benson, 585 Toorak Road, Toorak, Victoria
The Patrick's Green, Kogorah, 40 Chapel Street, Kogorah, NSW
The Terraces Paddington, 74 Brown Street, Paddington, NSW
Carmelite, 7 Spence Avenue, Myrtle Bank, South Australia
The Residences at Cardinal Freeman, 137 Victoria Street, Ashfield, NSW
Stockland's Shine Birtinya, 3 Reflection Crescent, Birtinya, QLD
Aveo Bella Vista, 28 Norbrik Drive, Bella Vista, NSW
The Central by Goodwin, 20 Galore Street, Crace, ACT