Residents and officials gathered on November 27 to celebrate the milestone.

The vertical-style retirement living development, with 52 apartments as well as communal areas, gym, cafe and basement car parking, expands the Garden Village community.

Ron and June Duncan are sold on the apartment lifestyle in the new development after moving in during early October.

“We feel like we have won the lottery,” Mrs Duncan said.

“We just think it’s wonderful.”

The Duncans moved into their apartment with the view they could continue living there as they got older given the services available.

Mr Duncan said: “When you wake up in the morning, you think you are on holidays.”

Garden Village Board chairman Noel Atkins said a lot of innovative thinking and planning went into the development.

“We believe this development does fill a gap in retirement living in this area,” he said.

Almost 1000 people worked on the site in Garden Crescent during the 18 month construction project.

Garden Village chief executive officer Craig Wearne said Garden Village was proud and construction company Watpac was equally proud that locals made up 93 per cent of workers on the project.

Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams said it was developments like Cascades Apartments which set Port Macquarie, now a regional city, apart from other regional areas.

“We are a population that is living longer but a population that’s much more discerning when it comes to how we want to live in the final years of life once we retire,” she said.

“It’s really exciting we are seeing this new way of retirement villages right here in Port Macquarie.”

Mayor Peta Pinson congratulated the Garden Village Board for its vision and the residents on making an investment into their own lives.

“This is a remarkable building with a very quick delivery,” she said.

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