Keyton’s Bernborough Ascot beside Doomben Racecourse in Ascot has completed its second building, Poinciana House, sold it out entirely, and broken ground on a third stage, with the precinct emerging as the most watched example of vertical retirement living in Australia as the sector reshapes itself around what a new generation of retirees actually wants.
The project sits within Brisbane Racing Club’s $1.5 billion transformation of the Doomben and Eagle Farm racecourse precincts, about 8 kilometres from the Brisbane CBD.
What Keyton has built there is something Australia had not seen before: a retirement community designed vertically, in a genuine inner-city location, with the lifestyle amenity and design quality that older Australians have increasingly come to expect from premium residential living. Both completed stages have sold out. Stage three is now underway.
“We’re seeing a clear shift in what people want from retirement living,” Keyton CEO Nathan Cockerill said. “Many retirees want to live closer to the action and are choosing to stay close to the city, to services and to family, while also looking for homes that are secure, low maintenance and designed for the long term.”
Five Buildings, One Precinct, Built for Ageing in Place
Bernborough Ascot opened its first stage, Fig Tree House, in late 2020 with 69 one, two and three-bedroom apartments and a suite of resort-style amenities including the Master’s Lounge trackside bar and dining, a private cinema, library, art studio and gymnasium. Fig Tree House sold out entirely.
Poinciana House followed as the second stage, delivering 53 architecturally designed apartments with sweeping views over Doomben Racecourse and the Brisbane skyline. New community facilities arrived with it: an indoor heated magnesium pool, fitness studio, bowling green, consulting rooms with allied health services, salon, café, residents’ lounge and dining, and a rooftop terrace. Poinciana House also sold out.
Construction on Magnolia House, the third of five planned buildings, is now underway with Balmain & Co, the builder who delivered Poinciana House, and is due for completion by mid-2027.
Magnolia House will deliver 72 apartments across two and three-bedroom configurations, three premium trackside-facing penthouses and a rooftop dining and alfresco space. A waitlist for early access is open at keyton.com.au.
The full Bernborough Ascot masterplan spans five residential buildings, with the final two to follow Magnolia House in subsequent stages. When complete, the precinct will represent one of the most significant concentrations of purpose-built retirement living in inner Brisbane.
The Care Piece Is Coming Next Door
What makes Bernborough Ascot more than a premium apartment development is its integration with a broader continuum of care. Opal Healthcare is planning a six-storey, 190-bed aged care facility called Ascot Grove Care Community on an adjacent site within the BRC precinct, with construction planned to commence in 2026.
When complete, it gives Bernborough Ascot residents the ability to move from independent living into residential aged care without leaving the precinct, the community or the relationships they have built.
Cockerill describes the model as reflecting a fundamental shift in how retirees think about where they choose to live.
“A new generation of retirees no longer view retirement communities as temporary housing, but rather as ‘forever homes’ where both independent living and potential eventual care needs are met within one continuum,” he said.
A Name That Honours a Racing Legend
The Bernborough name is no accident. It honours the legendary Queensland thoroughbred Bernborough. Barred from racing in Brisbane for several years, the “Toowoomba Tornado” went on to win 15 consecutive races after moving south, cementing his place as one of Australia’s greatest turf champions.
Naming the precinct after him ties the retirement village to the rich history of Doomben Racecourse, which it overlooks, and gives the development a strong sense of place that many generic high rise retirement projects lack.
The precinct holds a 6-Star Green Star Communities rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, one of the first retirement communities in the country to achieve that rating, recognising its sustainability credentials and urban regeneration contribution to the Ascot precinct.
For more information about Bernborough Ascot or to join the Magnolia House waitlist, click here.
Published 30-April-2026
