THE CAMBRIDGE, EPPING | Australia's tallest retirement village
A retirement village that goes up, not out
Levande describes The Cambridge in Epping as Australia's tallest retirement village. The 29 storey tower holds 158 independent living apartments above a 132 bed aged care facility run by Opal HealthCare, a short walk from Epping's town centre and station.
Residents have a clubhouse and bar, rooftop terraces and dining areas, a cinema, pool, gym, library and craft studios. It opened in late 2025.
Built around a church and a school
The Cambridge was delivered by Levande in partnership with the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay, as part of the redevelopment of the Our Lady Help of Christians church and school site. The heritage listed church stays at the centre of the site, joined by a new primary school and a 200 seat parish hall.
Designed by Architectus, the masterplan gives each use its own entry: aged care, independent living, the school and the parish. The tower's footprint was kept small to protect sunlight to the church and school. As Architectus principal Farhad Haidari put it, "Our biggest challenge was getting the masterplan right."
What it means for the hydraulic services
A building like this asks a lot of its hydraulic design. One tower has to serve independent apartments and a residential aged care facility at the same time, and each has different demands on hot water, drainage and reliability. On top of that are the shared spaces: the pool, a private dining room and a hair and beauty salon.
Goldfish & Bay delivered the hydraulic services design for The Cambridge, through the construction design phase and the design changes that followed as the building took shape.
Recognition
The Cambridge was built by Richard Crookes Constructions and won Excellence in Retirement Living & Land Lease at the 2026 UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence.
We're grateful to Levande and the whole project team for the chance to work on a building that is changing what retirement living in Sydney can look like.
Image: Richard Crookes Constructions
