Summerset by the Dunes' main building in Pāpāmoa will be similar to the newly opened main building at Summerset Rototuna in Hamilton pictured here. Photo / Supplied
Summerset by the Dunes' main building in Pāpāmoa will be similar to the newly opened main building at Summerset Rototuna in Hamilton pictured here. Photo / Supplied
A new $40 million Pāpāmoa retirement village project will add another 119 serviced apartments, care and dementia beds to the Bay's "highly demanding" market.
The Tauranga City Council has approved a building consent for Summerset by the Dunes' new main building at 22 Manawa Rd.
The project would include 56serviced apartments, 43 care beds and 20 dementia beds.
It is expected to create more than 250 construction jobs and up to 50 new permanent positions once complete in 2023.
The development would add to a pool of more than 3000 units spread across 27 retirement villages in Tauranga and be part of 1700 extra villas, apartments and serviced apartments planned for the city.
Summerset Group chief executive Scott Scoullar. Photo / Supplied
Summerset Group chief executive Scott Scoullar said it was great to have approval for its main building.
Scoullar said the main buildings were a "real feature" of Summerset's villages, with this one including a swimming pool, gym, cafe, cinema, spa, bowling and petanque facilities.
The main building would also include the care centre with rest home and hospital-level care, serviced apartments and "state-of-the-art" memory care apartments for people living with dementia, he said.
The care centre would feature coloured door frames, large flower murals and a sensory table for mental stimulation, he said.
"We're really excited to have consent for the main building as it puts us a step closer to providing a fantastic retirement option for the older people of Tauranga ..."
Scoullar said it was also good news for the local employment market with the villages typically providing jobs for more than 250 people during construction.
"There will also be up to 50 new permanent jobs in the retirement village once it's fully operational, from nurses to gardeners to village managers.
"Summerset villages are built in stages and the staff numbers build as resident numbers increase."
He said the number of New Zealanders aged 75-plus would triple from 350,000 to 1 million in the next 40 years.
"The number of over-75s who want to live in a retirement village is steadily increasing so demand for quality products, like those offered by Summerset, will only get bigger."
Construction is expected to start mid-year and be completed by late 2023.
Summerset was also issued another consent valued at $3.9m to build an extra 14 units across four blocks.
Once complete, the total cost of Summerset by the Dunes will be about $160 million and become home to more than 300 residents.
The Tauranga City Council issued 22 commercial building consents with a total value of $45,167,752 in April.
According to the Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand, there were 27 retirement villages in Tauranga, providing 3166 units and 273 care beds for 3982 residents.
RVA executive director John Collyns said retirement villages were "incredibly varied" as operators looked to find ways to distinguish themselves in a highly demanding market.
With about 30 per cent of Tauranga's 75-plus population living in a retirement village, the range of villages in the Bay was extensive, he said.
Collyns said the 1700 new units would create more than 2000 construction jobs with a direct investment value of $145.5m and 1000 extra employment opportunities once complete.
The care centre includes 29 "living well" apartments and 55 care suites, which provide rest home, hospital-level and specialist dementia care, and meant the village now had capacity for about 350 residents.
The living well apartments were almost 50 per cent sold in just six weeks. Photo / Copper Crest
Bill McDonald, chief executive of Arvida, which owns Copper Crest, said the living well apartments were almost 50 per cent sold in just six weeks.
That included residents moving in from within Copper Crest and its sister villages Bethlehem Shores and Bethlehem Country Club, he said.
"Our care suites have also had strong and ongoing inquiry. It has completely surpassed all of our expectations."
Meanwhile, McDonald said the Bethlehem Country Club's community centre was undergoing a significant refurbishment.
"There are about another 70 new villas planned in the next few years."
A building consent valued at $6m was also approved for more two-bedroom dwellings as part of the new Parewaitai Village on Grenada St.
What is a unit?
* A "unit", in retirement village terms, is essentially where someone lives in a village. It can be a stand-alone villa, a townhouse, an apartment or a serviced apartment (the latter also has care delivered to the resident). * So "unit" is shorthand for all of the above. * It is distinct from the community facilities, which can include the cafe, cinema, bowling green, community centre, etc.
