Take two: New plan for historic eastern suburbs War Widows site
An aged care provider has new plans for an eastern suburbs high-rise, six months after a controversial development failed. Its designers claim it will help with urgent housing needs.
Plans for an 11-storey retirement facility at the former War Widows site in Rose Park have been lodged by aged care housing company ACH Group, six months after the State Commission Assessment Panel rejected a high-rise proposal.
The revised $124 million Rose Park retirement-living community would include 61 apartments, a swimming pool, fencing, and would see the removal of a significant jacaranda tree and the partial demolition and adaptive reuse of the local heritage-listed Vasey House.
ACH Group CEO Linda Feldt said the revised proposal would address urgent housing and care options for older South Australians.
“South Australia is facing significant and growing pressure across housing, hospitals and aged care. As a not-for-profit guided by our purpose of supporting older people to live good lives, ACH Group is committed to being part of the solution,” Feldt said.
“We have listened, reflected and acted, making significant changes to our proposal while retaining its fundamental purpose: providing contemporary, age-appropriate housing that supports older South Australians to remain independent, connected and well.”
The site of the development includes Vasey House, a Local Heritage Place that was owned by the Australian War Widows since 1963 and named in honour of Jessie Vasey, the guild’s founder and inaugural president.
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It had previously been used to house widows of deceased soldiers and for the group’s activities.
In April, initial plans to build a 13-storey building with 72 retirement living bedrooms on the site was rejected by SCAP after numerous objections, with some claiming the legacy of the historic War Widows site on Fullarton Road was “at risk”.
The earlier high-rise plan rejected.
An ongoing campaign calling for greater heritage protection to save the War Widows site from future developments was launched earlier this year and has since gained more than 1800 signatures.
“This is not just land. It is a place created by women for the women who had already given so much,” the petition says.
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“War widows fundraised for 15 years to purchase this site in 1963—creating a safe, supportive community where they could rebuild their lives after loss. Since then, it has provided housing, dignity, and belonging not only to war widows, but to other vulnerable elderly women in our community.”
Bragg MP Jack Batty, who campaigned against the previous proposal, told InDaily resident concerns about the development’s “scale and impact on the surrounding neighbourhood” needed to be “properly addressed”.
“Rose Park is a beautiful, historic residential suburb, and any development on this site needs to respect its character, heritage and neighbouring homes,” Batty said.
“Local residents deserve a proper opportunity to examine these revised plans and have their say before any final decisions are made.”
But Feldt said ACH remained “steadfast in our commitment to the War Widows’ legacy through the restoration of local heritage-listed Vasey House and the co-designed and newly established meeting hall at Janet Mayo House”.
“Together, these initiatives honour the contribution of South Australia’s war widows and help ensure their legacy continues for future generations,” Feldt said.
The last three remaining war widows and other residents living at the Rose Park site were all moved into new homes in the past two years, according to ACH.
Data from the 2025 PwC–Retirement Living Council retirement census revealed SA has the nation’s third-highest demand for retirement living, with almost 5,000 village waitlist registrations recorded.
Retirement Living Council executive director Daniel Gannon supported the development, saying Rose Park’s proximity to the CBD and Adelaide Park Lands was an ideal location.
“Just 1500 metres down Fullarton Road, planning rules allow buildings of 20 storeys – 73 metres – in part of Glenside, almost twice the height of the 11-storey retirement village proposed at Rose Park,” Gannon said.
“At 37 metres, it would stand just one metre taller than the Queen Victoria apartments around the corner, so why is this housing proposal a step too far?
“With more than 500 older South Australians stuck in hospital waiting for an aged care bed and ambulance ramping reaching record levels, we desperately need developments like Rose Park that help people stay healthier and independent for longer.”
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