Leigh Hopper has been recognised for services to property development and philanthropy in this year's King's Birthday Honours.
Leigh Hopper has been recognised for services to property development and philanthropy in this year's King's Birthday Honours.
Leigh Hopper says his proudest achievement continues to be the building of a solid New Zealand-owned legacy brand which is now successfully transitioning to a third family generation.
“Maintaining my involvement at directorship level across the various activities provides me with a great deal of satisfaction,” he said.
Hopper, 68, said he had been fortunate enough to be able to support a range of worthy community endeavours and deliver significant public benefit within the developments he had overseen.
He led Hopper Developments from a small family operation to a business employing more than 200 people.
While developing unique high-amenity residential communities with integrated commercial and retail services including retirement villages, his developments focused on the long-term public and private good they would bring.
Leigh Hopper loves flying.
Through his work, Hopper donated land and supported the building of a range of public facilities such as sports fields, concert parks, boat ramps and marinas.
Some of the developments built by Hopper Developments included residential canals with high public and private waterfront amenity.
Raised on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and Hibiscus Coast through his primary school years, the Hopper family moved to Pauanui in 1969, where his father Ian was undertaking the Pauanui ocean beach resort.
His secondary schooling was at Thames High, crossing the Tairua Harbour to catch the bus to and from school.
“The formative years were on the Coromandel’s east coast with school holidays spent on machinery creating new sections at Pauanui, and early learnings in civil construction and land development; also discovering all the recreational elements on offer in the Coromandel, including water sports, boating and flying.”
Having transitioned to managing the wider family business, it was subsequently diluted to the immediate family and a long-term business investment with his father.
Leigh Hopper also loves being on the water.
Hopper said his first notable development project was Pauanui Waterways, first released in 1993, a canal housing development enabling people to moor their vessels outside their homes.
Whitianga Waterways, a large-scale integrated waterfront development, followed in 2001.
“Whitianga stands as New Zealand’s premier canal housing development,” he said.
“A similar canal housing project with inland marina called Marsden Cove was released in 2007; Hoppers Developments and subsidiaries have grown to activities beyond residential property development and now include retail, retirement villages and aged-care services, civil construction and building.
“In all our endeavours we aim to deliver high levels of amenity, both public and private.”
Hoppers Maygrove retirement village in Orewa received a Best Retirement Village Award in 2019 from Aged Advisor.
Hopper sponsored the Mercury Bay Area School’s aircraft build programme, for the import of a kitset plane for students to construct, completed in November 2023.
