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Brisbane-based alternative real estate fund manager GreenFort Capital has partnered up with private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners to acquire and develop an $800 million pipeline of retirement living communities.
GreenFort executives Adam Vaggelas, Nick Singleton, and Daniel Cheilyk established the ‘Liven Communities’ land lease arm in 2023 and have since acquired a 57,000 square metre parcel of land on Beach Road at Hervey Bay in Queensland.
The project has received approval to develop 132 homes and resort-style community facilities including residents lounge and bar, gymnasium, cinema, outdoor BBQ areas, pool, tennis and pickleball courts.
The group also recently purchased Willow Village in Southside, near Gympie in Queensland, absorbing an existing 26-home community on a 25,000-square-metre site. The location has an adjacent 75,000 square metres with development approval for an additional 150 homes.
The latest joint venture accelerates GreenFort’s plans to scale its new Liven Communities business to an initial platform of 1,200 land lease dwellings across the east coast of Australia.
GreenFort partner and Liven Communities co-founder Adam Vaggelas said Australia’s rapidly ageing population, lack of housing supply, and deteriorating housing affordability represented a significant opportunity.
“The domestic population base is ageing rapidly, and the provision of affordable housing supply has never been so constrained,” Vaggelas said.
“We see a compelling opportunity to deliver quality, well located land lease accommodation which will assist senior Australians to downsize and release equity to fund their retirement.”
Based in Hong Kong, Gaw Capital Partners is private equity fund focusing on real estate markets in Asia Pacific and other high barrier-to-entry markets globally.
The firm’s investments span the entire spectrum of real estate sectors, including residential development, offices, retail malls, serviced apartments, hotels, logistics warehouses and IDC projects.
Gaw Capital manages funds in the US, a Pan-Asia hospitality fund, a European hospitality fund and a Growth Equity Fund. It also provides services for credit investments and separate account direct investments globally.
Since 2005, the firm has raised USD$22.5 billion (AUD$33.7 billion), with assets of USD$35.9 billion (AUD$53.8 billion) under management as of Q4 2023.
"We are excited to partner again with GreenFort Capital to launch our land lease community platform in Australia,” Gaw Capital Partners president and managing principal Kenneth Gaw said.
“Our shared vision of providing high-quality housing solutions aligns perfectly with the growing demand and changing demographics in Australia.
“In addition, this joint venture further strengthens our commitment to investing in sustainable and innovative projects that positively impact communities."
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