Former Brisbane bowling club to become nursing home

Victorian operator Arcare has beaten out offers from three other developers to buy the Springwood Bowls Club in Logan City for a “sizeable seven-figure sum”.

The board of the Club, which was established in 1972, had decided to look for a new site for its bowling activities after a decision to stop trading.

“We aren’t moving from the site because memberships are down,” Chairman John Kirkpatrick told the Courier Mail. “The decision to sell up was taken because our trading levels have fallen due to the growing competition from other licenced clubs and pubs in the area,” said Mr Fitzpatrick.

The 8,797 square metre site is one of the largest parcels of commercial land in the Logan City area and had received plenty of interest from buyers because it is close to the Pacific Motorway.

Arcare has expanded to 26 aged care homes in Victoria and Queensland since opening its first home in 1997 and will soon move into New South Wales with its first facility set to open at Living Choice’s Glenhaven village in Sydney.

This is the second time the owners John, Russell and Graham Knowles and Ian Ball have made their name in the village sector.

They previously owned Australian Retirement Communities (ARC) which they sold in 2007 to Stockland for $329 million to Stockland.

At the time ARC was the largest private operator with 17 villages and 2,850 units, a business they grown since 1969 when they built the Frankston Baptist Centre. 

They also remain close to village operator Retirement Communities Australia (RCA), which is led by Andrew Phillip, who they employed at ARC.

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A special thanks to our contributors

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Caroline Egan

DCM Media, agedcare101

Caroline has a wealth of experience writing within the retirement and aged care sector and is a contributing journalist for the Villages.com.au and agedcare101 blog and accompanying newsletters.

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Ian Horswill

Journalist

Ian is a journalist, writer and sub-editor for the aged care sector, working at The DCM Group. He writes for The Weekly Source, agedcare101, villages.com.au and the DCM Institute fortnightly newsletter Friday. Ian is in daily contact with CEOs of retirement living, land lease and the aged care operations and makes a new contact every week. He investigates media releases, LinkedIn and Facebook for a good source for ideas for stories.

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Lauren Broomham

Retirement and Aged Care Journalist

Lauren is a journalist for villages.com.au, agedcare101 and The Donaldson Sisters. Growing up in a big family in small town communities, she has always had a love for the written word, joining her local library at the age of six months. With over eight years' experience in writing and editing, she is a keen follower of news and current affairs with a nose for a good story.

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Jill Donaldson

Physiotherapist

Jill has been practicing as a clinical physiotherapist for 30 years. For the last 13 years she has worked solely in the Aged Care sector in more than 50 metropolitan and regional facilities. Jill has also toured care facilities in the US and Africa and is a passionate advocate for both the residents in aged care and the staff who care for them. She researches and writes for DCM Media.

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Chris Baynes

DCM Media, agedcare101

Chris has been a journalist and publisher in the retirement village and aged care sectors for 11 years. He has visited over 250 retirement villages and 50 aged care facilities both within Australia and internationally. Chris is a regular speaker at industry conferences plus is a frequent radio commentator.

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Annie Donaldson

Nurse and Carer

Annie has a long career in both nursing and the media. She has planned and co-ordinated the medical support from both international TV productions and major stadium events. In recent years she has been a primary family carer plus involved in structured carer support.