AUSTRALIA – The first gay and lesbian retirement village in Australia is to be built in Ballan, a small town in the state of Victoria located on the Werribee River 48 miles north west of Melbourne.
The Geelong Advertiser reports that the 120-unit complex for over 55s is being built on the Ballan-Geelong Road, and will include an indoor heated spa, bar and croquet lawn.
Work is expected to start on the complex early next year, and interested people will be able to buy units off the plan in two months time.
Developer Peter Dickson has billed the $30 million Linton Estate retirement village as a haven for the gay, lesbian and bisexual community.
“I talked about this at a dinner party 16 years ago with friends, and from a comment about how we should all live together when we grow old has grown into this, I have invested well and was able to bring this dream into fruition, there are a lot of lonely people out there and older people are the history of Australia. I wanted Linton Estate to be different to other retirement facilities and this has now come about, it’s a wonderful achievement for all,” said Dickson.
Dickson said he has had expressions of interest from 226 people from across the world including Turkey, England and the United States as well as from Victoria and interstate. More information is available at lintonestate.com.au.
Local shopkeeper Ian Ireland told the Advertiser, “It should be good, it will mean having more people around; it’s growing anyway so this is no different.
