Levande lodges changes to $159m Oatlands seniors village

Retirement living operator Levande has lodged a modification application for its seniors living village at the former Oatlands Golf Club site in the City of Parramatta local government area, with planning portal records listing the filing against reference DA/1001/2022/J on 20 October 2026. The 1.6-hectare site at 94 Bettington Road, Oatlands, sits next to the club’s remaining private course.

Levande bought the development rights to the site from Mirvac in 2025, a transaction The Urban Developer reported at the time as the retirement operator’s seventh acquisition in two years. That purchase is background to this week’s filing, not part of it: the modification seeks to amend the consent issued under the existing reference, rather than starting a fresh application.

Why it matters

A modification application seeks to amend an existing development consent rather than restarting the process on a new file, which is why Levande’s filing sits against the existing DA/1001/2022/J reference rather than a new application number. The underlying village has not changed developer or site since the 2025 purchase; this filing seeks to amend the existing consent.

Levande chief executive Kevin McCoy described the appeal of the location at the time of the 2025 purchase, saying “Oatlands is a wonderful part of Sydney and offers an outstanding quality of life to its residents.” The Urban Developer reported the site sits close to transport links, Westfield Parramatta shopping centre and Westmead Hospital, infrastructure that typically underpins a retirement operator’s site selection.

The numbers

The underlying project totals 140 dwellings, per The Urban Developer’s account of the 2025 rights purchase: 127 independent living units spread over four buildings, each sitting above two levels of basement parking, plus a further 13 townhouses that each get their own basement. Planning portal records attach a cost of works of $159.1m to the modification filed under DA/1001/2022/J. The Urban Developer also reported that Levande agreed to build the golf club’s existing members a replacement clubhouse as part of the deal.

What’s next

The portal record lists the modification’s status as additional information requested, with no exhibition dates or determination recorded. Levande’s other Sydney projects, including a 217-apartment development at Hills Showground and its Castle Ridge village at Castle Hill, show the same operator working several north-west Sydney sites at once, though each is assessed on its own file. Other planning activity across the market is tracked on the Sydney hub. The Oatlands modification will next be determined on whatever design changes it ultimately carries, once the portal record moves beyond its current entry.

Levande’s scale gives some context to the Oatlands filing: The Urban Developer reported the operator runs 59 villages across four Australian states, serving more than 10,000 older residents with a workforce of over 500 staff. Against that national footprint, Oatlands is one filing among many Levande has in motion at any given time, and the modification’s outcome will turn on the specific design changes lodged with the consent authority rather than on the operator’s broader pipeline.