A third retirement village is planned for Wanaka, and if approved will increase the number of units by 100, and the other retirement villages in the township have both the capacity and plans for expansion.

Winton Properties Ltd is seeking to construct and operate a 100-unit retirement village and private 36-bed hospital - Northbrook Wanaka Retirement Village - at Northlake, adjacent to Outlet Road.

The plans are being fast-tracked under the Covid-19 Recovery Act 2020. 

Winton spokesperson Sonya Fynmore told the Wanaka App the company hopes to lodge the final application for the project with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) by the end of this week.

She said the village is expected to create 700 jobs during construction and an estimated 38 during operation.

The Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village has experienced a period of high demand. PHOTO: Supplied

There are two long-established retirement villages in Wanaka: the Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village, on Golf Course Road, and the Wanaka Retirement Village, on Meadowstone Drive, which together currently house around 212 people.

The Aspiring Village, which welcomed the first residents ten years ago, has 180 residents within its 124 villas and 16 apartments. 

Neighbouring the village is the Aspiring Enliven Care Centre, which is jointly owned with Presbyterian Support Otago. The care centre has 52 beds, 20 of which are dementia care and the remainder hospital and rest home.

Aspiring Lifestyle managing director Aaron Armstrong said the village has experienced a period of high demand in line with the real estate market in Wanaka.

The Wanaka Retirement Village is considering expansion. PHOTO: Presbyterian Support Otago

“The last nine months, post the original ‘lockdown’ have been very busy. We’ve seen quite a significant increase in interest in the village,” he said.

“It’s been seen nationwide by retirement villages, and the general consensus is people of retirement age who experienced lockdown on their own felt somewhat isolated. Our village residents certainly appreciated the sense of community.”

Aaron said people who may have been unsure about whether or not to move into a village have now “decided to take action”.

He said there is additional land within the village and resource consent for further apartments, but at this stage no decisions have been made around timeframes for expansion.

The Wanaka Retirement Village, adjacent to Elmslie House rest home, is owned and operated by Presbyterian Support Otago. The village, which opened in December 2010, has 32 residents within its 11 apartments, 14 villas and three cottages. 

Presebyterian Support Otago finance director Andrew Borthwick told the Wanaka App the organisation is currently looking at the possibility of building new units to respond to demand.

Newer to the scene is the Roys Bay Estate, a luxury lifestyle resort, on Mt Aspiring Road, near Roys Bay, which began construction in 2017.

While the community was initially managed under the Retirement Villages Act, the estate has now “deregistered” as a retirement village.

Director Catherine Hannon told the Wanaka App that Roys Bay Estate is “a lifestyle community”, with normal unit titles and a body corporate.

“It’s still aimed at young middle-aged people [55+], and people can still retire here. But it’s aimed at the active retirees or people who may not really be ready to retire yet, and may want to use it in the meantime as holiday accommodation,” she said. 

The 2018 Census identified that approximately 21 per cent of the Queenstown Lakes District population was retirement age or older.

By 2036 it’s projected that around one in 4.5 New Zealanders will be aged 65 or older.