Wellness Underpins Golden Age Heritage Home Strategy

A profitable private residence or a shared wellness hub. Melbourne developer Golden Age faced this choice while planning Maritima Brighton in the city’s affluent bayside suburb of Brighton. The project is a masterplanned residential community comprising 83 architect-designed townhouses arranged around landscaped grounds and the restored heritage-listed Maritima House, close to Brighton Beach, 12km south-east of the Melbourne CBD. Prices start around $3.5 million, and most of the initial land release has sold ahead of the estimated 2028 completion. Early plans explored selling the site’s 1867 Maritima House as a standalone residence. ▲ A Carr rendering of the heritage-listed Maritima House, built in 1867, which will anchor the Maritima Brighton masterplan as a residents’ wellness clubhouse. Instead, the developer chose to repurpose the heritage building as a private wellness clubhouse for residents, placing it at the centre of the masterplan and using it to organise the surrounding neighbourhood. The move removed a potentially valuable home from the project’s saleable mix and positioned shared wellness infrastructure as a defining element of the development. “One early option we explored was subdividing the heritage house and selling it as a standalone private residence,” Golden Age development director Damien Hehir tells The Urban Developer . “Very early in the planning process it became clear the building could play a much more meaningful role as the social and wellness heart of the community.” ▲ Golden Age development director Damien Hehir says the heritage Maritima House will serve as the social and wellness heart of the development. The restored structure will form the residents’ clubhouse within the Carr-designed masterplan. The clubhouse introduces facilities including a yoga studio, gym, sauna, plunge pools and outdoor pool alongside communal areas within landscaped gardens framed by heritage-protected trees. “There was certainly significant standalone value in the property as a private residence,” Hehir says. “However, we viewed Maritima House as something larger than a single asset.” He says the building’s heritage status and its history as part of Xavier College’s Kostka Hall junior school campus influenced the decision to repurpose it as a shared landmark within the development. “By integrating it into the masterplan as the clubhouse we were able to retain the cultural legacy of the site while also elevating the overall quality and identity of the development.” ▲ A rendering of the residents’ pool and outdoor wellness terrace planned within the Maritima Brighton community. Wellness moves into the masterplan The Brighton project reflects a broader shift in residential development. Growing investor interest reflects a rapidly expanding wellness economy. The Global Wellness Institute’s 2025 Global Wellness Economy Monitor valued the sector at US$6.8 trillion in 2024. Within this market, the institute’s report Build Well to Live Well: The Future says wellness real estate reached US$584 billion in 2024, with forecasts suggesting the category will exceed US$1.1 trillion by 2029. For residential developers, wellness considerations increasingly influence projects from the earliest stages of design rather than appearing as secondary amenities. ▲ Carr director Richard Beel says the heritage building helped organise circulation, landscape and shared spaces across the site. Carr director Richard Beel says Maritima House shaped the masterplan from the outset. “From the earliest stages we saw the heritage building as more than something to simply retain,” Beel says. “The opportunity was to creatively repurpose it so it could actively shape the identity of the neighbourhood.” During the design process the building moved from the edge of the site to the centre of the masterplan. “Rather than sitting on the edge of the development, it now becomes the focal point which organises the surrounding homes, landscape and shared spaces.” The design team then structured the neighbourhood around the restored building. “Homes, pathways and landscaped areas were arranged to create visual and physical connections back to the building and its surrounding gardens,” Beel says. Delete The decision reshaped how the site operates at ground level, shifting circulation away from cars and toward people and landscape. “Relocating vehicles underground had several benefits, it allowed the ground plane to prioritise landscape, pedestrian movement and shared open space rather than driveways and garages,” Beel says. “This creates a quieter, greener environment and reduces the visual impact of density.” The planning journey The current scheme emerged through an evolving planning process. Earlier proposals for the site were refused by the Bayside City Council in December 2023 following objections relating to built form, neighbourhood character, traffic and infrastructure. Golden Age revised the scheme, with adaptive reuse of Maritima House becoming a central feature of the updated masterplan. Hehir says the development philosophy remained closely tied to its location. “Our philosophy for this project has been ‘Brighton for Brighton’,” he says. “Every development should respond to the character of its location, and Maritima has been designed specifically to sit comfortably within its surroundings.” What buyers are paying for The Maritima Brighton case study also reflects changing buyer priorities in established prestige suburbs. ▲ Aerial view of Brighton’s coastline showing the Maritima Brighton site within the established suburb about 11km south-east of Melbourne’s CBD. “The strongest driver was location,” Hehir says. “Buyers are drawn to Brighton and want the opportunity to either remain in the suburb, potentially downsizing or find an opportunity for new custom home, or move into the area.” Many buyers are long-time Brighton residents seeking lower-maintenance homes without leaving the neighbourhood. “Beyond that, the combination of security, community-focused design and the presence of a private wellness clubhouse has resonated strongly.” The community includes gated entry, underground parking and landscaped internal spaces designed to create a protected residential environment. Hehir says the clubhouse helps communicate the project’s broader intent. “The clubhouse has certainly been a significant drawcard,” he says. “It elevates the development beyond a traditional townhouse project by introducing a lifestyle component which is rarely available in suburban communities.” Beel says residential design expectations continue evolving. “Historically facilities such as gyms or wellness rooms were often placed in leftover spaces or basement areas,” he says. “Today there is much greater awareness around physical and mental wellbeing, and buyers increasingly expect these spaces to be thoughtfully integrated into the overall design. “That includes access to natural light, connections to landscape and broader design strategies such as improved air quality, natural materials and biophilic elements that support wellbeing in everyday living.”

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