New retirement villages for changing market
Rich lister John Ryder who co-founded Ryman Healthcare 34 years ago, is behind a new wave of retirement villages in Hamilton, Nelson and Christchurch being developed by another company he majority owns.
Ryder’s company, Qestral is currently selling down Burlington Retirement Village in Christchurch scheduled for completion next year, and is poised to begin work in Nelson and Hamilton as it looks for further development properties.
He has an estimated fortune of
$80 million, while Ryman co-founder Kevin Hickman has about $400m, mainly from their Ryman venture in which they retain small shareholdings. They pulled back from Ryman management and directorships years ago to embark on other interests.
Qestral’s Burlington embraces concepts that development made Ryman Healthcare successful, including dementia care, although it boasts a more spacious approach and is pitched at the higher end of the market.
‘‘When I was with Ryman I wasn’t involved in development, I was more dealing with finance, marketing and operations,’’ Ryder said. ‘‘Since then I’ve been more involved in development and I find it a huge privilege to have a blank canvas in the architectural design. It’s very creative.’’
The $140m Burlington village is being built by Armitage Williams on 14 hectares near Ngai Tahu’s Prestons Rd subdivision to the north of Christchurch and features 3ha of man-made lakes.
Ryder said the company incorporated innovative architecture and new technical and recreational concepts – with large property footprints for independent, stand alone, two and three bedroom houses. One of Qestral’s directors is architect Kerry Mason who has completed projects around New Zealand with many post-earthquake rebuilds in his Garden City home town.
The Burlington village is on track to open in March 2019. Qestral also owns the nearby Alpine View Lifestyle Village where development is nearly complete.
Ryder is executive chairman of Qestral, and its managing director is Simon O’Dowd, national chairman of the NZ Aged Care Association.
Burlington features three hectares of manmade lakes, and includes 200 houses, a 60-bed standalone rest home and hospital centre, a 20-bedroom dementia care complex and 40 serviced apartments. It will also include a lodge and clubhouse with amenities such as a hairdresser, bar, restaurant, bakery, church, movie theatre, gymnasium and indoor swimming pool. In keeping with the majority of retirement villages, Burlington residents purchase a right to occupy, rather than a freehold property title. Prices are yet to be tested, Ryder said.
O’Dowd said the retirement village market was changing rapidly and people wanted something individual and different – on-site facilities and design, with plenty of space, as well as integrated care.
Qestral is about to begin work on a 12 hectare $125m retirement village on the Port Hills in Nelson called Coastal View. Another $150m village in Hamilton is due to get under way soon, with 650 metres of river frontage close to the city.
Ryder said Qestral was seeking at least two more more sites in the North Island.