Alternative real estate fund manager GreenFort Capital and real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners have launched a joint venture to acquire and develop an A$800 million ( US$533 million ) pipeline of land lease community projects across the east coast of Australia.

The joint venture, through the firms’ managed funds, 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.

Established last year, the Liven Communities land lease business has acquired a 57,000 square metre parcel of land on Beach Road at Hervey Bay in Queensland, with approval to develop 132 homes and resort-style community facilities.

The group has also recently purchased Willow Village in Southside, near Gympie in Queensland – an existing 26-home community on a 25,000 sq m site – together with an adjacent 75,000 sq m parcel of land with development approval in place for a further 150 homes and extensive recreational and community facilities.

GreenFort partner and Liven Communities co-founder Adam Vaggelas notes that Australia’s rapidly ageing population, lack of housing supply, and deteriorating housing affordability represent a significant opportunity.

“The domestic population base is ageing rapidly, and the provision of affordable housing supply has never been so constrained,” Vaggelas says. “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.”

Kenneth Gaw, president and managing principal of Gaw Capital Partners, says the joint venture further strengthens our commitment to investing in sustainable and innovative projects that positively impact communities.

The GreenFort and Gaw Capital joint venture is the second for the investment partners after they joined forces on the Reside Communities retirement living platform in 2018. Since then, the development and operating portfolio has grown to more than 1,000 homes with a gross value of approximately A$1 billion.