Kerikeri Retirement Village is selling several properties on Hawkings Cres after a plan to develop them into affordable housing fell through. Photo / Jenny Ling
Kerikeri Retirement Village is selling several properties on Hawkings Cres after a plan to develop them into affordable housing fell through. Photo / Jenny Ling
A Northland retirement village’s plans to sell off several properties worth nearly $3m to be developed into affordable housing have fallen through.
Kerikeri Retirement Village last year said it wanted to sell four properties it owned on Hawkings Cres to a community-focused developer on the proviso they develop itas affordable rental accommodation for workers and young families.
The village had resource consent for the development plans, which included 29 townhouses.
Unable to find a buyer willing to realise its vision, thethree tenanted houses and one empty section have now been put on the open market.
Kerikeri Retirement Village chief executive Hilary Sumpter said it was disappointing that a developer didn’t take up the opportunity.
The village spoke to a number of potential buyers but nothing materialised, she said.
“We put a lot of effort into trying to realise that vision but it didn’t pan out so we now need to move onto the next iteration.
“Kerikeri is growing like crazy and there’s huge demand for service businesses in sectors such as health, wellbeing, property, travel, law, engineering and marketing,” Sumpter said.
It aimed to boost its retirement accommodation to cater for “the silver tsunami”, caused by an influx of retirees to the Bay of Islands.
However, in March 2024 Sumpter said the village was scaling back plans to build an extra 180 retirement accommodation units on the land.
Kerikeri Retirement Village chief executive Hilary Sumpter was disappointed a developer didn’t jump on the opportunity to build affordable housing in Kerikeri.
That was because the addition of new and expanding retirement villages in the area - including the $170m Arvida complex on Hall Rd and Metlifecare’s Oakridge care home on Cobham Rd - meant that much of the local demand had been met.
The Hawkings Cres properties are now on market with Real Kerikeri marketed as “rare opportunities for our first time buyers, landlords and developers”.
The two-to-four-bedroom houses are priced at between $575,000 and $699,000, and the empty section is $390,000.
A fifth property that is also for sale is owned by a benefactor of the village who wanted to be part of the failed development project, taking the total market value of the properties to $2.9m.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said developer appetite “would be limited” in Kerikeri.
However, selling the properties on the open market was a win for first home buyers and investors, he said.
“We’re seeing developers come back into the market and making purchases or hoping to do spec build stuff.
“But in places like the Far North, buyer demand might be limited.
“For developers to make the numbers work they’re targeting more established markets with a bigger buyer pool.
“But it’s a win for investors and first home buyers.”
Sumpter said proceeds from the sales would be channelled into a new community centre currently being built on village grounds.
Construction of the 1000sq m centre is due for completion in the second half of next year.
Sumpter hoped the centre would also become an asset for the wider Kerikeri area as a potential venue for events, functions and activities.
“Our existing social centre has pretty-much done its dash and it was certainly time to build something that better meets the needs of our residents,” she said.
A village spokesperson confirmed “some properties” were bought on Stella Drive and Wendywood Lane, but couldn’t say how many.
They were still owned by the village, and there were no plans to sell them, he said.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and animal welfare issues.
