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The sole occupant of a planned $50 million retirement village is to finally get neighbours after a change of ownership ended a three-year delay on the project.
The elderly woman has been the sole resident of the Kerikeri village since 2004 when the development stalled because of a legal dispute.
But developer Vision Senior Living, which has two facilities in Auckland and another in Hamilton, is now the sole owner of the village after buying its assets from liquidators.
Vision Senior Living chief executive Peter Bourke said the legal battle was now over and work on the development, to be known as Vision Bay of Islands, would resume soon.
The development is expected to be completed over the next five years in several stages, and will have up to 150 dwellings - standalone villas and some low-rise apartments - for up to 200 residents.
The first step will be completing 10 partly- built homes that have been unfinished on the site for three years, Mr Bourke said.
"We will complete and refurbish those 10 houses and they should be selling in time for Christmas," he said.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
