An artist's impression of what Omokoroa Country Club's lakehouse could look like. Photo / One to One Hundred Limited
An artist's impression of what Omokoroa Country Club's lakehouse could look like. Photo / One to One Hundred Limited
Construction of a $280 million country club featuring a state-of-the-art movie theatre, golf driving range, a health spa, and a lakehouse has begun in Ōmokoroa.
Resource consent has now been granted for 162 standalone villas at Omokoroa Country Club, planned for Prole Rd, with the first stage including 63 villasand the main clubhouse set to start construction in about two weeks’ time. Once complete, the village was expected to create more than 70 jobs.
It comes as the first stage of a multimillion-dollar new commercial development known as The Village Ōmokoroa was expected to be completed by next month. Earthworks for a $75m commercial and residential hub in Ōmokoroa were also well under way.
The developer of the Omokoroa Country Club, Sanderson Group, has confirmed pre-sales have “exceeded all expectations”, with “many” villas already snapped up and residents expected to move in by next February.
The 1700sq m clubhouse would house a bar, cafe, dance floor, billiards room, state-of-the-art movie theatre, and library.
A separate “exclusive” 700sq m health spa would include a swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnasium, hairdresser and two specialist consulting rooms for beauty treatments and massage therapists. It would also include a lakehouse overlooking Whakamārama’s Waipapa stream, which was considered “one of the jewels” of the village, as well as an 80-bed dementia care facility.
The cafe in the main clubhouse would be open to the public, along with the smaller cafe on-site. All other amenities would be for residents and families.
Omokoroa Country Club director Daryl Scott said in a statement that the first villas were “prepped, grassed, and ready” for construction to begin in about two weeks’ time.
It was also working to plant the banks of the Waipapa stream and build boardwalks along the 400m stretch of river, he said.
Scott said the village would provide long-term employment for more than 70 people once complete and it was hoped the facility would set the benchmark for the “very best of retirement living in the country”.
“We will be raising the bar as high as possible at the Omokoroa Country Club.”
Scott said there was “huge demand” for luxury retirement living and premium care facilities in the region and Ōmokoroa was the perfect location.
“We wanted to make sure that every requirement was catered to and provide the ultimate retirement living experience.”
The Sanderson Group was behind developments including Bethlehem Country Club, Bethlehem Shores, Ōmokoroa Country Estate as well as several other retirement villages throughout New Zealand.
Scott said they were seeing “strong interest” from prospective rural residents who were struggling to find access to medical services due to roading issues.
“This development will appeal to retirees who are looking to live independently in a safe and supportive village where residents can enjoy a sense of community and belonging.
“Ōmokoroa offers wonderful lifestyle amenities including golf courses, bowls clubs, beaches and extensive walking and cycling trails.”
Warren and Mahoney Architects, alongside landscape architecture specialists Rough Milne Mitchell, would also help to bring the project to life, he said.
“Public biking tracks are woven all around the edge of our property, and golf and bowls will be a big part of life here.
“We are going to have our own golf driving range and putting facility on-site, as well as an international-size, four-lane bowling green and croquet lawn ... It will set a new standard of retirement living, well above what has been offered before.”
An artist's impression of what The Village Omokoroa could look like.
Meanwhile, the first stage of a new commercial development known as The Village Omokoroa was expected to be completed by next month.
The Village, which was being developed by Foster Develop Limited on the corner of Tralee St and Hamurana Rd next to FreshChoice supermarket, would include 4500sq m of retail and commercial space once completed.
Development manager Andrew Vincent said the multimillion-dollar development had been under construction for a little more than a year, with stage one on track to be finished and opened in August.
“We have leased over 3500sq m of retail and commercial space to 20 different tenants with a great mix of retail, hospitality, health and wellness and professional services.”
Vincent said The Village Omokoroa would provide an “incredible amenity” for Ōmokoroa .
It would provide some “much-needed” amenities as well as new employment opportunities for locals, with more than 30 new businesses starting to trade within The Village once completed, he said.
Earthworks for the $75m commercial and residential hub in Ōmokoroa were also well under way.
Resource consent for the 5.3-hectare Omokoroa Town Centre on Ōmokoroa Rd was granted in May 2021.
An artist's impression of what the future Ōmokoroa Town Centre could look like.
Jace Investments Limited director Craig Lemon said stage one earthworks were conducted between September 2022 and April 2023.
Lemon said a “considerable amount of money” had been invested primarily in “environmentals” such as erosion and sediment control systems.
“Given the wet summer, we are pleased with the progress to date.”
The second stage of earthworks was set to start in late September and October, with the aim of finishing the “landform” for the primary commercial area before it could begin on roading, stormwater, and wastewater, he said.
Lemon said its retail consultancy and design agents had been busy in the last 12 months working through its stage one tenancy agreements. He could not say more about what exact tenants would be included due to confidentiality agreements at this time.
Western Bay of Plenty mayor James Denyer said many plans were coming to fruition and any investment into Ōmokoroa was welcome.
“It has been a priority development area for some time. The growth has been signalled there for many years.”
Denyer said the announcement in March the building of two new schools will start next year was also “another part of what makes a town”.
The town centre was “the real key” to how Ōmokoroa developed.
“That creates jobs, a community ... we want Ōmokoroa to be more than just a collection of houses. This is all part of the process of making Ōmokoroa a town of its own.”
Zoe Hunter is an assistant news director covering business and property news for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She also writes for NZME’s regional business publication Money. Zoe has worked for NZME since 2017.
