Fraser Sanderson (left) with Heidi and Daryl Scott. Photo / Supplied
A $280 million country club featuring a state-of-the-art movie theatre, a health spa and a lakehouse is planned for Ōmokoroa.
The Omokoroa Country Club, planned for Prole Rd, will feature 170 stand-alone villas, about 50 apartments, an 80-bed dementia care facility.
The new 17ha development is expected to be built by 2031 and will create about 65 permanent jobs.
Omokoroa Country Club director Daryl Scott said earthworks were underway and he expected resource and building consents to be granted by the end of the year or early next year.
The 1800sq m clubhouse would have a house a bar, restaurant, cafe, dancefloor, billiards room, state-of-the-art movie theatre and library.
A separate health spa would have a swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnasium, hairdresser and two specialist consulting rooms.
Scott said a lakehouse was also planned.
"It will be pretty special."
Scott said the total cost of the development would be about $280m and would create about 250 jobs at peak construction time and operate with about 65 staff once finished.
The new village would also include a 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 done before," Scott said.
He expected strong interest from Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Auckland residents looking to retire in Tauranga.
"Ōmokoroa is an ideal location.
"It offers a wonderful lifestyle – there are golf courses, bowls clubs, beaches, walking and bike trails, public biking tracks, all nestled within a beautiful setting.
"A new town centre is being built just down the road and you are only 15-20 minutes' drive away from Tauranga. It is also within easy reach of Auckland and Hamilton."
He expected the build to be completed by 2031.
The Sanderson Group is behind developments that include Bethlehem Country Club, Bethlehem Shores, Omokoroa Country Estate as well as several other retirement villages throughout New Zealand.
Its founder, Fraser Sanderson, sold Bethlehem Country Club and Bethlehem Shores in Tauranga and the Queenstown Country Club to retirement home operator Arvida Group in 2019 for about $180m.
Scott and his wife Heidi, who is Fraser Sanderson's daughter, would oversee the development of the new country club.
Heidi said she had "lived and breathed retirement villages" her entire life.
"Sanderson Group originally developed Omokoroa Country Estate and I lived on site there when I was a child.
"Our family chat around the dinner table was always retirement villages. So it is quite nice to continue on the family legacy of providing luxury retirement living by spearheading this development with Daryl."
Fraser Sanderson said he believed people should enjoy freedom and security in their retirement, along with the rewards of their own hard work.
"They [Daryl and Heidi] have chosen an ideal location and Omokoroa Country Club will set the bar very high indeed."
A new report released this week has also revealed the retirement sector was struggling to keep up with ageing population pressures, and the head researcher said the Bay of Plenty had New Zealand's highest per-capita demand for retirement village living.
JLL NZ's 10th annual Retirement Villages and Aged Care Report found, according to the New Zealand Retirement Village and Aged Care Database, the number of retirement units in New Zealand rose 71 per cent.
There were now 37,489 units spread across 425 villages nationwide, accommodating an estimated 48,736 residents.
Head of research Gavin Read said the pressure was on for providers to deliver their development pipeline.
Read said the Bay of Plenty had the highest per-capita demand for retirement village living in the entire country, with almost a fifth of all over-75s across the region choosing this way of life.
"We anticipate that local demand will grow steadily over the next 10 years and we will see the sector needing to accommodate a further 3200 residents by 2033.
"As such, it is great to see quality developments such as the Omokoroa Country Club being delivered, which reflects not just the demand but with its broad range of facilities to meet the changing needs and wants of village residents."
Retirement Villages Association (RVA) of New Zealand data showed there were 4387 units across 45 villages in New Zealand - up 313 from 4074 in 44 villages in 2021.
A unit can be a stand-alone villa, a townhouse, an apartment or a serviced apartment.
RVA executive director John Collyns said there was significant growth in unit numbers in the 12 months.
Collyns said a 250-unit village contributed $21.4m directly into the local economy and $63.2 million indirectly.
That meant the Omokoroa County Club had the potential to contribute even more to Western Bay's economy.
The Bay's retirement village population was about 5700 residents, which was expected to rise 56 per cent between now and 2048.
The announcement of the Omokoroa County Club comes as the Government this week announced $38m from the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund to upgrade the State Highway 2-Ōmokoroa Rd intersection and unlock critical new housing potential in the suburb.
Minister of Housing Megan Woods on Thursday announced the Western Bay of Plenty District Council had secured $38m from the Kāinga Ora-led Infrastructure Acceleration Fund to upgrade the SH2-Ōmokoroa Rd intersection.
The upgrade will include an interim roundabout built at SH2-Ōmokoroa Rd, four-laning of Ōmokoroa Rd from SH2 to Prole Rd, and a second roundabout at the future Francis Rd intersection to service the industrial area.
Western Bay of Plenty District Mayor Garry Webber said it was a vital piece of infrastructure to support significant population growth in Ōmokoroa, and the wider region.
Once complete, the council expects more than 900 new homes will be built in Ōmokoroa by 2029.
Webber said the Sanderson Group was a large operator not only in the Western Bay but New Zealand.
"It is exciting they are proposing to put another facility into our area, Ōmokoroa especially."
Webber said a $75m town centre, new schools, and more housing were all in the pipeline for Ōmokoroa's future.
"There is a lot under proposal at the moment. It is exciting times."
Ōmokoroa was one of the fastest-growing provincial districts in the country, he said.
"That demand is not going to go away."
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