Retirement village plans

A NEW retirement village may be on the way for Queenstown.

Remarkables Park developer Alastair Porter said there were plans for 80 to 100 apartmentstyle units, in four buildings, to be constructed on land behind Wakatipu High School — and directly beside a planned private hospital facility at Remarkables Park.

He would not comment on who the operator was, but said it was ‘‘one of the most experienced retirement village people in New Zealand’’.

It is understood the operator has yet to commit to the project.

It is understood the proposal is in the very early stages of investigation and market studies were not complete.

Mr Porter, however, said each building of the proposed retirement village would be five or six storeys high.

‘‘It will be for people who are wanting highquality apartment accommodation, as opposed to a small house on the ground.

‘‘It’ll be overlooking park grounds and actually looking up over the high school playing fields to the north, and the Remarkables to the east.’’

As part of Mr Porter’s plans to establish a private hospital, there was also an opportunity for a ‘‘care hospital’’ catering for the elderly.

That would ‘‘almost certainly be run and managed by the retirement village’’, he said.

In 2010 Sanctuary Residences was granted resource consent to construct an $80 million, fivestar retirement village on 152ha of land at Remarkables Park.

It was to have comprised 130 apartments in six storeys, along with a pool, gymnasium, restaurant, library and bowling green, but was never built.