$14m Masterton project lifts firms

A $14 million hospital and retirement development in Masterton is proving a boon to local subcontractors.

Trevor Marshall of Lansdowne Park Lifestyle Village said "at least two-thirds" of the subcontracting work had gone to Wairarapa firms.

The project consists of a 50-bed care unit and 29 self-contained apartments, and includes a library, movie theatre, shop, activities room and a Men's Shed-style workshop.

"All the electrical work is being done locally, and much of the plumbing, carpentry, framing, steelwork, concreting and site work," Mr Marshall said.

The hospital will be on the ground floor of the complex, with apartments on the first floor which are already under construction.

The main building is comprised of four sections, all connected.

The scale of the project is reflected in commercial building consent values, which are two-and-a-half times more in the year to September than last.

Lansdowne Park applied for a $9 million building consent in the September 2011 quarter, with the remaining $5 million going into "chattels, equipment, engineer's fees and everything else", Mr Marshall said.

That single $9 million consent makes up most of the $11.58 million in building consent activity for July to September.

In the year to September, total building consent value is $25.37 million, 150 per cent higher than the $10.14 million in the year to September 2010.

Masterton District Council senior building officer Trevor Burkhart said the numbers of consents were often a better indication of building activity in the district than the value, although larger projects did provide a boost for employment.

Once the development is finished, the new hospital and retirement villas are set to provide 100 fulltime or part-time jobs in the care and service industries.

Mr Burkhart said the number of residential building consents was set to rise significantly in the next quarter, but the figures would be somewhat misleading because of upcoming sewerage work in the district.

"Over the next few months the Riversdale sewerage scheme is being connected to homes.

"That will mean 300-odd building consents because each home requires an individual building consent."