Oak Tree Retirement Villages

As part of Oak Tree Group’s ongoing expansion of its retirement living portfolio, Renascent Regional was engaged to deliver the Stage 4 developments at Oak Tree Retirement Villages in Dubbo and Mudgee. Delivered concurrently under a Design & Construct model, the projects represent the final stages of each village masterplan, completing two established communities in regional NSW.

The combined scope encompassed approximately 17,000m² of construction, delivering 53 independent living villas across both sites, including 16 villas at Mudgee and 37 at Dubbo. Each villa was designed to support ageing in place, incorporating accessible layouts, functional living spaces and integrated services aligned with the needs of senior residents.

Client Priorities

• Programme certainty, ensuring both projects were delivered concurrently without delays despite regional and live-site constraints
• Quality assurance, with a strong focus on achieving defect-free handovers across multiple separable portions
• Resident safety and amenity, maintaining uninterrupted day-to-day living conditions within operational villages
• Cost efficiency, leveraging standardisation and value engineering to optimise outcomes without compromising quality

Technical and Delivery Challenges‍

Several complex and high-risk elements defined the projects:

• Construction within live, operational retirement villages, requiring strict separation between residents and active works
• Shared access points, deliveries and traffic management within constrained, occupied environments
• Challenging ground conditions at Dubbo, requiring screw pier foundations for multiple duplex slabs
• Weather sensitivity impacting concrete works, with strict requirements for dry conditions to maintain quality

Our Approach and Solutions‍

Renascent adopted a highly structured and staged delivery approach to manage the complexity of concurrent works across both sites. Construction zones were carefully isolated through fencing, hoarding and controlled access points, ensuring resident safety while maintaining efficient site operations.

Standardisation of villa designs enabled streamlined procurement and consistent construction sequencing across both projects. Early engagement with subcontractors, combined with proactive quality inspection regimes, supported defect prevention and consistent workmanship.

At Dubbo, detailed planning and adaptive scheduling were implemented to address ground conditions and weather risks. Continuous monitoring and flexible sequencing ensured programme continuity while maintaining structural integrity.

Risk Management‍

Key risks were mitigated through early planning, stakeholder coordination and disciplined site management. Interface risks within live environments were controlled through clear zoning and access management, while programme risks were addressed through weather monitoring, sequencing adjustments and lessons learned applied across separable portions.

Ongoing communication with the client, consultants and on-site teams ensured alignment across both locations, enabling consistent delivery outcomes despite the scale and complexity.

Project Outcomes‍

The projects were delivered with strong programme performance across both sites, achieving defect-free handovers and high-quality build outcomes. The completion of Stage 4 at Dubbo and Mudgee finalises each village masterplan, increasing capacity and delivering cohesive, well-integrated communities for residents.

For Oak Tree Group, the outcome is expanded operational capacity, reduced post-completion risk and high-quality assets designed to support long-term independent living in regional NSW.

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