The steering group behind plans for Abbeyfield Wānaka House (AWH) is looking at a handful of potential sites for the project.

Abbeyfield is a non-profit housing model designed to provide affordable, ‘family style’ rental accommodation for seniors and late last year a group of Wānaka residents teamed up with the goal of creating one here.

A big hurdle to the project, steering group member and Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) councillor Lyal Cocks said, is acquiring land to build AWH on.

“The steering group has been very active but land is a big issue still,” Lyal told the Wānaka App.

It has identified some possible options but Lyal stressed that there is “a lot of negotiating to do” yet.

One of those options is an offer of private land, which is a “a lovely bit of land but it has some planning and servicing issues,” Lyal said.

The steering group is also in discussions with QLDC about making some council-owned land available for AHW.

This had briefly included the council-owned land at Ironside Drive, near Wānaka Primary School, but that is now “off the table”.

Earmarking the flat portion of the Ironside Drive site for AWH would have had a significant impact on the site’s overall value, so it was decided it was “better for ratepayers to put [the whole site] on the market”.

Lyal said the steering group is still in talks with QLDC about another couple of council-owned sites and it is also discussing the possibility of a land contribution with a local developer.

Meanwhile, ‘sub groups’ within the steering committee have been formed - one to focus on fundraising (a pub quiz next month will be its first fundraiser event) and another on marketing.

Lyal said the steering committee wanted the community to know about the Abbeyfield housing model and its proven track record.

There are more than a dozen Abbeyfield residences around New Zealand, run by volunteer trusts where tenants share meals prepared by a housekeeper, and rents are capped. 

The model “has been around a long time and is very successful in other parts of New Zealand including Frankton,” Lyal said.

Once a site for AWH is secured, it could take as little as 18 months to construct the entire building, which is estimated to cost $4.5M.

PHOTO: Supplied