Maddy Harker
03 October 2023, 4:04 PM
Wānaka’s third retirement village could be operational as soon as 2025.
Retirement village giant Metlifecare has submitted a resource consent application for a new village in Three Parks.
The company purchased a 5.42ha site near the Wānaka Golf Course last year and its application, lodged in August, provides more information about its plans for the site.
Layout plans for the proposed retirement village. IMAGE: Supplied
If the project gets the go-ahead, it will feature 93 villas, a care home, and an amenities building.
Plans have changed since last year, when Metlifecare head of development Matt Wickham said the company planned for 120 villas and seven apartments.
Application documents say the villas would be a mix of two and three-bedroom terrace-style homes, each with garages, and the care home would feature 30 suites.
The amenities building, according to architectural drawings, would feature a billiards room, cafe, salon, dining room, lounge, and activities room.
An artist’s impression of the amenities building. IMAGE: Supplied
In its application Metlifecare said there was “high demand for elderly housing in this location”.
The Wānaka retirement village would be Metlifecare’s first in Otago and third in the South Island.
The company also has almost 40 retirement villages in the North Island.
The Wānaka retirement village could create up to 140 construction jobs in the community during the building phase and another 50 once operational, across nursing, gardening, kitchen staff and more, the application said.
Queenstown Lakes District Council is currently considering the Metlifecare application.