Corporate News

Villawood Properties has officially launched our newest residents’ club, at Lara – a $9 million resort-style club in the new 1100-lot Coridale community – with a loud, bright and colourful community celebration.

Designed by architects ClarkeHopkinsClarke, Club Coridale features a boutique café, swimming pool, gym, sport courts, family and function areas. It will serve as a dynamic social and recreation hub for newcomers to the estate.

The club is Villawood’s second in the Geelong region, a sister to our Club Armstrong at Mount Duneed and our eighth to date – including the 2022 UDIA Great Place award-winning Club Rathdowne at Melbourne’s Wollert.

The club was officially opened by TV travel guru Catriona Rowntree and Villawood executive director Rory Costelloe in front of 250 people at a large party celebrating its completion.

Coridale, in the Lara West growth corridor, was launched in 2018 with its first buyers camping overnight to secure their lots. It features signature Villawood hallmarks including high-end playgrounds, generous open space, retail outlets and ready access to Geelong and Melbourne.

The residents’ club is an important part of Coridale’s community infrastructure, which Villawood Executive Director Rory Costelloe says “will allow new families to meet each other, enjoy the facilities and form new friendship groups and common interest groups”.

“Our Club Armstrong established Mount Duneed as the go-to suburb of the growth areas south of Geelong – now Coridale, with its residents’ club complete, is doing the same thing in the north,” he says.

“It’s pleasing to hear stories of residents making new friends in new playgroups and swimming, walking, yoga and cycling groups within our clubs.”

Coridale has grown strongly, with 600 sales to date. Its capital growth is similarly strong, as evidenced by the recent sale of its Good Friday Appeal charity house for $1.13million, after selling at auction for $1.01million in April – up $120K in seven months.

Villawood’s Armstrong Mount Duneed was the first suburb in Geelong’s growth corridors to achieve house re-sales of more than $1million, underscoring the gains within the developer’s estates.

ClarkeHopkinsClarke senior associate Daniel Taranto says the architects designed Club Coridale to be a place “people love to visit with friends and family, spend time in and feel like they belong”.

“We explored scale, form and a mix of uses to create a destinational amenity that would benefit local residents and support active and healthy lifestyles,” he said.

“The design provides opportunities for community events and programming, supports local business and is a sustainable, adaptable building.”

Club Coridale was built by Geelong’s Spence Construction, creating 150 EFT jobs during construction, with supporting and supply industries, and injecting some $12 million into the local economy.

The broader Coridale development, over time, will generate in the order of $600 million into the regional economy.