Warkworth is set to become a destination for retirees with two more multi-storeyed retirement apartments planned for the CBD and a new retirement village proposed on the town’s western fringe.
The partnership behind the Oaks on Neville retirement apartments, which is currently under construction, has confirmed plans to expand in central Warkworth.
A new retirement village has also been proposed on a large block of land on Falls Road, west of Warkworth, while Summerset Falls Retirement Village, on Mansel Drive, started work expanding onto a new site this month.
Warkworth lawyer and Oaks on Neville director Chris Murphy says two to three apartment buildings and a care facility are planned for the former Warkworth Price Cutter site on Neville Street. The buildings will be up to five storeys high.
The site would be integrated with the Oaks on Neville development and would allow the facility to expand from 83 units to between 100 and 120, as well as a 30 unit care facility.
Ideally, Mr Murphy says construction will follow on from the current project, which is expected to be finished late next year. But this will depend on getting both a resource consent and a building consent.
He expects the resource consent to be granted as non-notified, as it is being designed to comply with the rules under the Unitary Plan.
The company has owned the 2500m2 site for some time, but plans to develop it were on hold as Price Cutters had a long-term lease.
“The tenant could have stayed for another five years, but now they have decided to move on it has become available.”
The company also recently bought the former Wilmot Motors site, on the corner of Whitaker Road and Mill Lane, where it plans to build another block of retirement apartments.
Mr Murphy says it is still assessing options for the 5500m2 site, but it will probably build a four to five storey apartment building with retail on the ground floor.
“We are considering it as a future extension of the Oaks retirement village. We are still talking to planners to determine what can be built.
“We will then need to go through the consent process, so it will be some years before anything happens on the site.”
A contract for the second phase of construction, which will see the buildings erected, has been let to Takapuna company Kalmar Construction.
The apartment blocks will have 63 units and retail space on the ground floor.
Project manager Dave Stott says the foundations for the building will be laid this month and the main frame of the building will go up over the next four months.
A 50-metre high crane will hoist building materials into the site from trucks parked on Neville Street, lifting the materials over the historic oak trees lining the street.
The loading hours will be restricted to reduce disruption.
The next phase of construction will also involve excavating a basement carpark.
Meanwhile, Summerset Falls Retirement Village started a major expansion this month.
The company is building an additional 79 villas on an adjacent 2.4-hectare site, bordering Woodcocks Road and Mansel Drive.
The first 24 buildings will be finished by the end of the year – the rest will be completed in 2018 and 2019.
The complex already includes a range of villas, cottages and serviced apartments, as well as an aged-care facility.
