Retirement giant Arvida is fixing its Mayfair main block and apartments at Albany. Photo / Alex Burton
Retirement giant Arvida is fixing its Mayfair main block and apartments at Albany. Photo / Alex Burton
Privately-owned retirement village company Arvida Group is spending $50 million-plus fixing apartments and a community centre at Albany although it knew about those building problems before buying.
A three-level apartment block is being rebuilt and repairs are under way to the community centre at Arvida Mayfair off Oteha ValleyRd.
A spokesman said the project was large and complex, with more than $50m being spent.
Arvida is now owned by United States private equity business Stonepeak after a $1.2b takeover last year.
The spokesman said Arvida bought Mayfair in 2021 as part of the $345m purchase of the Arena Living portfolio of villages which included the Peninsula Club, Knightsbridge Village, Parklane Village, Mt Eden Gardens and Ocean Shores Village.
A group contacted the Herald after reading about Ryman Healthcare fixing the main hub, apartments, reception and hospital at Edmund Hillary village in Remuera.
One Mayfair resident said: “There are two lots of remediation work going on: one is the apartments. The other remediation is in the community centre itself but you cannot see the work as it is all boarded up”.
The management was releasing regular updates but these were repetitive, the resident said.
Residents have complained about how disruptive the works are. Photo / Alex Burton
Mayfair village manager Kirsty Allison said she was excited about the changes and felt lucky that Arvida was investing in the village.
About 140 people live at Mayfair where occupation rights agreement prices for the mainly single-level dwellings range from $850,000 for one-bedroom to $1.7m for three bedrooms.
Allison said there were no prices on the three-level apartments being repaired because occupational rights agreements were not offered for sale yet. Work is not finished.
Good news at Mayfair - soon. Photo / Alex Burton
The village has 100 villas of one, two or three bedrooms. Some are standalone, others are semi-detached and all but one is single-level.
At the centre of the village is the main hub reception, with an indoor pool and cafe, attached to 66 apartments. Allison said building work would reduce those to 55 units as some would have two-bedrooms.
A January weekly development construction update said the new bar installation work was about to start and lower-level painting and plastering had been completed.
It told residents of noise, demolition and dust, the arrival of large delivery trucks and small to medium delivery trucks.
Around 140 people live at this Arvida base on the North Shore. Photo / Alex Burton
“Be aware of workers erecting and dismantling work area partitions in the community centre. Please be cautious around moving machinery around the community centre.
“Be aware of workers erecting and dismantling site fencing around work areas,” Arvida’s January newsletter told Mayfair residents.
The resident said the newsletter told very little and had contained about the same level of information for the past several months.
“Many of the activities here are being disrupted. For example, the weekly yoga session is constantly impacted by the noise of construction work being carried out in an adjacent area.
“The extensive library has been relocated into a less intimate area and there is nowhere one can sit to browse through the book to see whether it is the one you would like to borrow or read.”
The completion date of the renovations is constantly changing and there seems to be no end in sight. The apartments are now expected to take another 18 months which would mean two years of work.
Whether the previous occupiers of the apartments will still be alive to move back in is the big question, the resident said.
The three-level apartment building has been stripped back to its core and re-built. Photo / Alex Burton
But Allison took the Herald on a tour to show amenities were still on offer and bowling enthusiasts could use another Arvida bowling green on the Shore.
The Arvida spokesman said work started last April and would be delivered in a number of phases.
“The phases have been co-ordinated to ensure the community centre opens progressively for minimal impact to resident activities and events.
“The village café has remained open throughout. Following completion of the community centre, the apartments are scheduled to complete by the end of 2026,” he said.
Arvida appreciated residents' patience and support and the result would be quality living which had been thoughtfully designed, the company spokesman said.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
