New villages for retired highlight growth area

An apartment at Metlifecare's new village on the North Shore. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Two Auckland retirement village projects worth about $200 million open this week.

On Saturday, Metlifecare will open part of a huge new village on the North Shore just a day after rival Summerset opens its $90 million South Auckland village.

Metlifecare chief executive Richard de Haast, company board members, residents and consultants including architects will hear Olympian kayaker Ian Ferguson speak at the event where the first units in multi-level blocks near the busy intersection will be opened.

The NZX-listed business will then unveil the first stage of what it says will be the country's largest new retirement village, at the corner of Shakespeare Rd and Taharoto Rd across from Smales Farm at Takapuna.

The North Shore development will eventually have 246 apartments, 15 serviced units and five care suites on the site beside North Shore Hospital. Building work is finished on the project's first stage.

In March Metlifecare said it would go ahead with a further 62 units, adding to the first 78 units opening on Saturday, built by Haydn & Rollett. Metlifecare has 16 retirement villages.

Summerset, the third-largest retirement village business, which owns and runs 10 villages in the North Island, last month opened the first portion of its new village at the intersection of Flatbush School Rd and Chapel Rd. The official opening is on Friday although Summerset said the first residents moved into the main building on May 8.

Summerset, owned by AMP Capital Investors and Quadrant Private Equity Services, has more than 1450 residents.

In 2007, the economic downturn forced AMP to ditch plans to float 80 per cent of Summerset as a standalone business. About $300 million was expected to be raised in the float.

This week, Summerset was presenting a bright face and said Summerset by the Park in South Auckland had a "soft opening" on May 2. Media were being invited to see the project and meet chief executive Norah Barlow before Friday's opening. The $55 million main building and $35 million villas were finished in March.

"The villas are 97 per cent sold and at the apartment launch last month, over 400 people attended over two days. The apartments are now 15 per cent occupied with steady interest," the company said.

The village is on a 4.3ha site and the first and second stages saw the development of 72 villas, 72 apartments, 23 serviced apartments and a 52-bed hospital. The villas are selling from $405,000 to $515,000, apartments $295,000 to $620,000 and the serviced units $250,000 to $310,000.

The value of the first and second stages was put at $90 million but Summerset said the entire village would be worth about $142 million once all the work was completed. The village will eventually be home to more than 300 people.

"Summerset was established in 1994 and opened its first retirement village in 1997. Since that time, its development programme has continued and now has a total portfolio of 13 villages. Of these, 10 are already operating and three are in the early stages of development. Summerset also owns sites at Waimauku and Karaka which are land-banked for development of further villages," the business said.

The new Flat Bush village has a rating from Lifemark which Summerset said was awarded for buildings deemed to meet certain usability, adaptability and accessibility standards.

A number of other large Auckland retirement villages are either planned or under development. Vision Senior Living has five villages and is developing the $120 million Vision Parnell on Carlaw Park off Stanley St near the city's CBD, leasing the property from Auckland Rugby League which is retaining the land.

Late last year, chief executive Peter Bourke showed off design plans and said this village would be the most centrally located. More than 200 apartments are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of next year, priced from $489,000 to $1.1 million.

AMP owns the Lion Breweries site in Newmarket where it plans a mixed-use project including a high-rise retirement village, although Lion is yet to leave that site.

GOLDEN AGE
* Two retirement villages open in Auckland this week.
* New Zealand has about 400 retirement villages.
* They are occupied by about 22,000 people.
* About 12 per cent of the population is over 65.
* By 2039, a quarter of the population will be over 65.
* older people do not live in retirement villages.