St. Clare Wins The Multi-Residential Space at the 2026 INDE Awards

Validation of St. Clare as a design lead market-making retirement living precinct.

St. Clare, Kew has won The Multi-Residential Space category at the 2026 INDE Awards, celebrated at last night's gala in Melbourne. The INDE Awards judge the best buildings, spaces and people across the Indo-Pacific region, and this result places St. Clare among the region's leading multi-residential projects, not just the strongest retirement living product in its class.

That distinction matters. Retirement living rarely competes directly against broader multi-residential development for recognition of this kind. As VMCH's delivery partner for St. Clare, Stonebank sees this win as independent, third-party validation of what we set out to prove alongside VMCH: that a premium, heritage-led retirement precinct can be a genuine market-maker, and an exemplar for the sector, judged on the same terms as any other high-quality residential asset.

Stonebank's Role

Designed by Woods Bagot for VMCH, St. Clare combines restored heritage buildings with contemporary architecture and expansive landscaping across a 1.4-hectare estate in Melbourne's inner east. Stonebank was engaged by VMCH as delivery partner for St. Clare across the full project lifecycle, acting as Project Manager and Principal's Representative from early governance and design through procurement, construction quality advisory and delivery to practical completion in late 2025.

Recognising the Team

Woods Bagot Associate Principal Blair Parkinson said the award reflected "the vision, leadership and unwavering commitment" of VMCH, together with the construction team at Hacer and the broader consultant group. VMCH's Chief Retirement Living Officer, Liz Hickey, called it recognition of "the vision, creativity and collaboration that brought St. Clare to life."

This is a strong result for VMCH, and a clear marker of the standard now being set for premium retirement living in Australia.

Read the full story from Woods Bagot here: St. Clare wins The Multi-Residential Space at the 2026 INDE Awards

If you are developing, planning, or investing in retirement living, we would welcome the conversation.