19 April, 2025

Belmont’s new retirement village will be years in the making

Master plan… This diagram shows Summerset’s planned layout for its retirement village in Belmont, fronting Eversleigh Rd (foreground) on the old Hillary Cres block, once occupied by Navy accommodation. Villa-style retirement units (mid blue) will ring the site and be one to two storeys high, with the central building and care unit (gold) rising to between four and five storeys, as will an apartment block (red). Other terrace-style accommodation (dark blue) will be up to three storeys. Public pathways (red dotted lines) lead into Northboro Reserve (top right) from the remaining curve of Hillary Cres and from the Lowe St cul-de-sac. The paths also follow the coastal reserve, linking to the walking route to Bayswater (bottom left), near where a new wooden boardwalk (red solid line) will be built to the bottom of Eversleigh Rd.
Summerset bought the land this year from Ngati Whatua Orakei’s property arm, which continues to develop the adjoining Oneoneroa subdivision.

Earthworks for the Summerset retirement village planned on the Hillary block off Eversleigh Rd in Belmont are likely to start around late 2027, the company says.
It would be five to seven years before the entire project on the nearly 5.8ha site was completed, a recent information evening on the development revealed.
The village would comprise between 300 to 350 units and feature one- to two-storey villas around the perimeter of the site. Some three-storey unit configurations might be offered further into the site. The central administration block facing the road would include communal facilities and a care unit. It was likely to rise to four to five storeys, as would an apartment block lower down the site. Warren & Mahoney would be the site architects.
Locals told the Observer at the meet-and-greet that they appreciated the chance to find out more about the major development. Most were near neighbours who were particularly interested in timelines, building heights and site layout. Around half a dozen company representatives were on hand to answer questions and show site maps.
A company spokesman estimated around 200 people came along over several hours, with some leaving their details for updates, including a few prospective residents.
“We’ve intentionally gone for an early approach for our neighbours to be informed,” he said. Communications would continue as planning progressed for “a predominantly low-rise village, not an apartment-dominated village”.
The spokesman said while land-use consent applications had been lodged with Auckland Council, the scale of the development meant it would take many months until the project was shovel-ready.
Design work was just beginning and needed separate building consents. Adjustments in approach might occur as design progressed and would also be subject to market conditions.
A public notification process is under way to seek revocation of reserve classification on a pathway through the site linking from what is now Hillary Cres to the public pathway on its northern coastal side.
The spokesman said Summerset was open to considering an idea from the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board of a potential “land swap”. Board members have suggested that instead of the remaining accessway from Hillary Cres, Summerset could provide one from its land by Lowe St, as a more direct public route through to Northboro Reserve. Both Hillary accessways could then be absorbed into Summerset’s site.
Summerset expects most buyers to be Milford, Takapuna and Devonport residents.

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