Construction’s underway on the next stage of Arrowtown’s retirement village — a $10 million, 1400 square metre residents’ lodge.
Designed to be the heart of the Arrowtown Lifestyle Village, the lodge will include a cafe/restaurant, bar, 13m swimming pool, spa, gym, 50-seat cinema and outdoor seating and dining area, petanque court and bowling green.
The pool’s already been dug out, 310 cubic metre of concrete’s been poured for the floor pad and foundations and a massive tilt-slab internal fireplace has been erected.
Residents’ association member Seija Wegg says the pool’s given ‘‘a sense of perspective on the size of the facility, but now the walls are being put in place, we can really picture how it’s all going to flow’’.
Marketing manager Jennie Anderson says the lodge, replacing a temporary one that will be converted into a villa, is due for completion next winter.
Meanwhile, the 62 villas built so far are all either sold or occupied, with 86 residents now on site.
Stage three villas have sold out and the last 21 — in two- and three-bedroom configurations — will be released before Christmas.
Anderson says the latter villas are generally larger as that’s where the demand is.
Since Covid, she’s noticed more interest from North Islanders — ‘‘the lockdowns/restrictions, I guess, clarified their thinking about where they want to spend their retirement years’’ — whereas earlier occupants were predominantly locals.
The developers are now finalising plans for apartments that’ll border the lodge.
Their resource consent was recently revised, reducing villa numbers from 120 to 111, apartment numbers from 75 to 50 and bed-care units from 100 to 70.
‘‘It is a large site at 12 hectares, but we still want to have really good outdoor living space and a bit of space between the villas,’’ Anderson says.
The apartments will be three-level, but care will be taken to ensure they don’t shade any villas.
‘‘The wonderful views will be the really distinguishing feature.’’
Anderson expects construction to start in the second half of next year and thinks they’ll suit ‘‘a more lock-and-leave lifestyle, and those relocating from larger cities where they may have lived in that style of accommodation’’.
The bed-care home will now be at the village’s southern end to reduce construction impact on residents and allow easier access from McDonnell Road.
