News
22 July, 2026
Tahmoor retirement facility's new lease of life
Tahmoor over 55's facility Stratford Gardens was a hive of activity on Tuesday morning with the opening of some brand-new facilities within their Wellness Centre.
Tahmoor over 55's facility Stratford Gardens was a hive of activity this morning with the opening of some brand-new facilities within their Wellness Centre.
This is a major milestone for the facility since it officially opened in 2023.
The facility now has a brand new indoor swimming pool, gym, sauna, lawn bowls green, pickleball court, and country club.
These facilities were officially opened by Wollondilly Shire Mayor Matt Gould, NSW State Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan, Vivacity Property's Development Director John Rowley, Jonathon Steggles – Mendez, Founder and Managing Director of Vivacity Property (who own and run Stratford Gardens) and Bill and Gail Douglass, the original owners of Stratford House, the heritage listed house on the property.
Vivacity Property also own and run facilities at Medowie (Tallowood) in the Hunter region, at Innes Park (Natrium Coral Cove) and Glenvale (Magnolia Resort) in Queensland and at Goolwa (Lakeside Goolwa) in South Australia.
Stratford Gardens' facilities are all state – of the – art and cater to the resident's every need, especially the gymnasium.
"The gym equipment was flown out especially from Finland, and is pneumatic compressed – air gym equipment, which is better for your joints and for rehabilitation," Mr. Steggles -Mendez told The Southern Wire.
"We also have the lawn bowling green and BBQ area, as well as the pickleball courts and an indoor cinema, sports bar, lounge areas and our kitchen and dining areas. Also, as part of our Arts and Craft program, we will also have the Stratford House facility coming up soon which we will renovate and it will host a library and a few other things for our residents."
The village is currently in Stage 4 of its five - stage development, with 220 homes built.
Your scribe also had a chance to look around one of Stratford Gardens' display homes, all of which are quite spacious and contain the latest utensils and materials.
Land lease sales team member Lauren Cook told The Southern Wire that Stratford Gardens is the only land lease facility of its kind based in the Wollondilly region.
"It makes it really presentable to clients that are coming in that are downsizing from large – acreage properties or simply wanting to be closer to their families," she said.
"The residents get to own their home outright, so it makes it really appealing for the clients coming in. We have 220 homes in total, and we're currently selling 11 homes in Stage 4 before we release Stage 5, so we are well and truly underway."
Stratford House itself has a rich history in the development of Tahmoor as a town.
The house was a private boys' school in 1916 (when Tahmoor was known as Cordeaux); and the town's public school also operated from Stratford from 1917 to 1919, before locating to its present site in Bronzewing St.
Stratford House was also the venue of the first Church of England and Presbyterian church services in Tahmoor, with previous owners the Gorrick family making it available to the community for concerts and public meetings.
In later years, it was also used as a boarding house.
The Picton and District Historical and Family Society Inc. Australia has a detailed account of the history of the site on their Facebook page.
To find out more about Stratford Gardens, visit the Vivacity website at https://vivacityproperty.com.au/stratford-gardens/.
NOTE: The Southern Wire has exclusive footage of the opening which we will share later on today.
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