A new direction for the Miranda project: independent living for seniors

Formus Property is proposing the homes in the State Significant Development Application are amended to a 108 independent living unit community for seniors. The five affordable homes and The Salvation Army's 1,500 square metre ground floor community facility are unchanged. The amended design is two levels taller, 19 storeys instead of 17, and has four fewer car spaces, 151 instead of 155.

No, this is not aged care. Independent living units are private, self-contained homes for active older people who live independently, within a managed community that offers shared facilities and services. There is no nursing home, hospital style care or residential aged care in the building. Residents can choose to arrange optional in-home support services, just as they could in any private home. At Miranda, residents will share 650 square metres of facilities on Level 1, including a gym, cinema, library and arts and crafts studio, plus a rooftop garden.

Residents of communities like this typically move in at around 75 years of age, with most aged between 75 and 84, and are downsizing from a larger family home, most often in the local area. They are independent and self-reliant, and want a low-maintenance, lock-up-and-leave lifestyle close to family, friends, their doctor and the places they know. Miranda's shops, medical services, train station and community facilities make this location particularly well suited.

Three reasons. First, demand: retirement communities across the Sutherland Shire are around 96 per cent occupied, the number of over 65s in the Shire is growing faster than almost any other group, and seniors housing providers approached Formus about this site after public exhibition. Of the more than 2,500 new apartments currently proposed across the Shire, the only new retirement housing being built anywhere in the catchment is a single 78-home stage at Taren Point, due in 2027.

Second, policy: the change aligns with Sutherland Shire Council's Local Housing Strategy 2041, which identifies the need for a further 1,520 independent living units in the Shire by 2041, and with NSW objectives for ageing in place.

Third, community feedback: submissions during exhibition raised traffic, parking and density. An independent living community means fewer homes, fewer cars, and residents who typically travel outside peak periods.

Independent living homes are larger than typical apartments and every home is larger in order to meet accessibility and usability standards, so there are fewer homes on each floor. The community also includes 650 square metres of dedicated shared spaces for residents on Level 1, including a gym, cinema, library and arts and crafts studio, plus a rooftop garden, replacing some apartments. Delivering 108 homes this way requires two additional levels, taking the building from about 60 metres to about 68 metres.

We recognise height was a concern in submissions, which is why we are publishing side by side comparisons and updated shadow diagrams of both schemes rather than asking anyone to take our word for it.

Updated shadow diagrams have been prepared for the same dates and times used in the exhibited application, 21 June at 9am, 12pm and 3pm, for both the exhibited and amended schemes.

The analysis shows the two additional levels cause no overshadowing impact on the neighbouring school's primary play area, and no change to direct solar access for neighbouring apartments and their communal open space, which retains more than two hours of winter sun to over 70 per cent of its area. The only extended shadow falls on open air car parking areas of the school and adjacent church. The diagrams are available on the project website.

Independent living unit residents own fewer cars than typical apartment residents, drive less often, and mostly travel outside peak hours.

The updated traffic assessment found the ILU community would generate around one third of the daily traffic of the publicly exhibited apartment scheme, and 78 per cent fewer trips in the morning peak, because most resident trips are mid-morning to mid-afternoon for shopping, medical appointments and social visits.

Car parking reduces from 155 to 151 spaces, consistent with the NSW Housing SEPP rate for independent living, which reflects the site being 400 metres from Miranda station, and includes visitor parking.

Nothing changes. The five affordable homes remain part of the development, exactly as exhibited.

Nothing changes. The Salvation Army's 1,500 square metre community facility at ground level remains the centrepiece of the project: a new base from which it will deliver youth programs, job training, housing assistance and support services across the Sutherland Shire, with an estimated community benefit of around $4 million every year.

When older residents downsize into a community like this, the family homes they leave behind become available for younger families in the surrounding suburbs.

Industry research indicates each independent living home sold releases around 1.4 existing dwellings back to the market; for this community, that is roughly 140 homes across the Shire, many of them family sized houses.

More than 80 per cent of the Shire's over 65s live in homes with at least one spare bedroom, so the flow on effect is real.

Council's Local Housing Strategy 2041 recognises exactly this, committing to create additional opportunities for people to downsize within their existing community.

It also means local seniors can stay in the Shire near their families instead of moving away to find suitable housing.

Formus is in discussions with experienced seniors living operators and managers. An operator has not yet been appointed. However, the community will be professionally managed, with an on-site manager as the day-to-day point of contact for residents and neighbours, and it will operate under the NSW Retirement Villages Act, which sets clear rules protecting residents.

The State Significant Development Application was exhibited in March 2026 and a response to submissions has been provided to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. The change of use requires a formal amendment to the application under Clause 37 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2021.

Formus expects to lodge an Amendment Report, with updated plans and technical studies, in July 2026. The amended application will then be publicly exhibited, the project team will respond to submissions received, and the Department will continue its assessment.

The application remains a State Significant Development, assessed by the Department.

Your submission stays on the record and has been formally responded to as part of the assessment. Many of the issues raised, such as traffic, parking and construction impacts, remain just as relevant to the amended proposal and continue to be addressed.

Submissions are made to the Department rather than to the project team, so we do not hold submitters' contact details, which is why we are updating the whole community by letter and through the project website. When the amended application is exhibited, you will have a further formal opportunity to make a submission.

Yes, twice. You can share feedback now through the project website, survey and project inbox. Once the amendment is lodged, the department will publicly exhibit the amended proposal and invite formal submissions.

Share a comment on the project website at www.mirandarenewal.com.au, complete the survey or email info@mirandarenewal.com.au to discuss your thoughts with us.