REIMAGINING RETIREMENT

Proven leadership
—————  creating lasting value

Crace Holdings is a Canberra-based development company. We are on a mission to protect and rejuvenate the past and plan for the future by creating a thriving retirement lifestyle precinct on the grounds of the historic Gungahlin Homestead, in Crace.
We have brought together a group of Canberra business leaders who are passionate about their city and prepared to invest in its future.

With the support of our shareholders, Crace Holdings purchased the 36 hectare Gungahlin Homestead Estate in 2023 after it served for 70 years as the CSIRO's national wildlife research station. The company officially took control of the site on 1 July 2025 when the CSIRO relocated.

Today, we are progressing our plans to conserve Gungahlin Homestead and reimagine it as the centrepiece of a vibrant new community. Our vision will secure the Homestead's future, provide an iconic destination for the whole of Canberra to enjoy, and address the growing shortage of retirement lifestyle options.

Find out more about Gungahlin Homestead - Canberra's best kept secret
CRACE HOLDINGS

Canberra locals with decades of expertise - we bring deep community connections and genuine commitment to this transformational project.

Our BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our principals are visionary thinkers with decades of hands-on experience delivering outstanding projects across the ACT.
DON MCINNES
Chairman

Don McInnes

Chair

A civil engineer (BE Hons, CPEng, MIEAust) with more than 35 years’ experience in the ACT market, Don built Sellick Consultants from a small practice into one of Canberra’s largest multidisciplinary engineering firms. Since 1991, under Don’s leadership, the firm has delivered landmark projects, including The Coventry in Dickson and Goodwin Aged Care, earning multiple prestigious Master Builders' Awards. Today Don’s deep technical skill and business knowhow guides Crace Holdings’ progressive development strategy.

CONNECT WITH Don on linkedin

Clare Gilligan

Development Director

Clare has 30 years’ experience as a development leader in Canberra, with an MBA and tertiary qualifications in Land Economics. In her professional role as a senior project director for CIC Projects and Australand Holdings, Clare has managed the design and delivery of residential estates and masterplanned communities across the ACT and NSW including Crace. Clare’s outstanding expertise in community development and sustainability, with a passion for exploring a Designing for Country future, makes her ideally skilled to lead the regenerative development of Gungahlin Homestead.

CONNECT WITH Clare on linkedin
CLARE GILLIGAN
DEVELOPMENT Director
IAN OLIVER
Director

Ian Oliver

DIRECTOR

An Australian National University educated CPA, qualified accountant and investor, Ian founded Capital Self Storage in the late 1980s. The enterprise grew into Capital Holdings Group, a leading commercial property and self-storage operation with assets across the ACT and NSW. Ian has championed many sustainable development projects, including Canberra's leading construction waste recycler at Pialligo. A life member of the National Trust ACT and avid car collector, Ian's museum-like "Ollie's Garage" attracts enthusiasts locally and worldwide. His keen eye on heritage value and the value in under-utilised assets makes him ideal for the Gungahlin Homestead vision and project.

CONNECT WITH Ian on Linkedin
OUR COMMITMENT

Vision & Values

Raising the Bar
Our vision for a new era in retirement living will raise the bar on heritage and sustainability offering a range of lifestyle options and a seamless pathway to care for residents aged from 55 to 105.
Luxury Living
The choice of luxury homes will range from houses, villas and apartments, to high care facilities, all designed in  small, intimate neighbourhoods embedded in the estate's expansive parklands.
Aging in Comfort
As residents get older and need more support, they will be able to move through different levels of care without leaving the community they know and love.
Community Destination
The new lifestyle precinct, with Gungahlin Homestead as its centrepiece, will be an attractive and vibrant destination for residents and the wider Canberra community to visit and enjoy.
Collaborative Planning
We want the whole of Canberra to help us develop the plan for Gungahlin Homestead Estate to deliver a world class retirement experience right here in Canberra.
NEWS AND VIEWS

Our stories