Yesterday Ingenia Communities announced to the Australian Securities Exchange that Mudgee Valley Tourist Park and Mudgee Tourist and Van Resort had been purchased as part of a cluster of manufactured homes.

Mudgee Valley Tourist Park, on the corner of Bell Street and the Castlereagh Highway, was acquired for $4 million with plans to add about 50 manufactured homes to the site. It is expected to settle in late September.

The Mudgee Tourist and Van Resort, on Lions Drive, was acquired for $7.2 million and plans are to add another 41 homes. It is expected to settle in October.

Yesterday Ingenia Communities CEO, Simon Owen, said Mudgee had been on the radar for more than 12 months.      

“We identified a highly prospective market and were attracted to both of the parks. We believe they are in an excellent location, well run and maintained,” he said.

Mr Owen said there had been a significant net migration in the Mudgee region and it offered a “buoyant local housing market”.

“The median house price in Mudgee is approximately $390,000 and over the past five years the average median house price has grown by 9.2 per cent per annum,” he said.

He said the company also realised Mudgee’s potential in the tourism market and they would continue to upgrade the current tourist park’s facilities.

“We are really excited to work with the local tourism market and attract part of the 491,000 visitors to the region annually,” he said.

The CEO added the company had advised Mid-Western Regional Council of its intentions some months ago and will sit down with Council to discuss their development opportunities. He said within a three to five year period there would be an investment of $15 million in the region. 

Ingenia Communities owns, operates and develops seniors housing across Australia and the CEO said 12 months ago the company were not visualising the purchase of two tourist parks in Mudgee.

“There are no retirement villages in Mudgee or its immediate surrounds which presents a tremendous opportunity in owning the two premier manufactured home and tourism parks in town. Residents would otherwise have to travel 125 kilometers to Dubbo to access that kind of service and we saw the two parks complemented each other begin on both sides of town,” Mr Owen said.

Mr Owen said the company’s aim was to retain all current management staff of both parks. Current permanent residents also would not see any changes.

Ingenia Communities has three existing rental villages in the area including Dubbo Gardens and Wheelers Gardens in Dubbo, and Peel River Gardens in Tamworth.