Diamond Harbour villas for elderly?

Press, 7 March 1984, Page 1

Diamond Harbour villas for elderly?

A Wellington-based company wants to build a multimillion dollar retirement complex at Diamond Harbour. Green Pines Holdings’ chairman, Mrs Marian Davidson, and another director, Mrs Jill Brayshaw, were in Christchurch yesterday to discuss a land deal with the Lyttelton Borough Council. The company wants to buy a block of 38.9 hectares of residential land at Diamond Harbour and develop it into a complex to accommodate up to 500 retired people in self-contained units. Mrs Davidson said that the company would sell the units but retain ownership of the land, which would be leased back to the unit owners for life. Included in the cost of the unit would be access to a wide range of amenities, including a six-hole golf course, a bowling green, tennis courts, a croquet green, a restaurant and shops. Mrs Davidson said that if the company obtained planning approval it would also build a short-stay hospital with associated comprehen-

sive-care apartments. It was too early to say how much a unit would cost, but in a complex the company is developing in Auckland, a two-bedroom unit costs about $lOO,OOO. The company and an associated company, the Red Pines Group, have bought two blocks of land in Auckland. Building is expected to begin at one of them within a few weeks. Mrs Davidson said that once land was bought and council approval given, the Christchurch project would take about 2Va years to complete. The company would need about 16 purchase contracts from residents before it could proceed with construction, she said.

The land which the company wants, on the slope above the Diamond Harbour township, is within the borough boundary. A spokesman for the council said that it was the only land in Diamond Harbour still owned by the council. Mrs Davidson said that she had sought out Diamond Harbour because three out of four people who had come to Auckland from Christchurch had mentioned it as the most desirable spot. However, if the deal with Lyttelton Borough Council did not eventuate, the company would look for an alternative site in Christchurch. The company has also bought land in Wellington for a retirement village.