The village spoke to a number of potential buyers but nothing materialised, she said.
“We put a lot of effort into trying to realise that vision but it didn’t pan out so we now need to move onto the next iteration.
“Kerikeri is growing like crazy and there’s huge demand for service businesses in sectors such as health, wellbeing, property, travel, law, engineering and marketing,” Sumpter said.
“But these businesses are handcuffed because potential staff are simply unable to find accommodation.”
The village, which is run by a non-profit trust, announced plans in 2018 to buy up to 42 properties on neighbouring Wendywood Lane, Stella Drive and Hawkings Cres.
It aimed to boost its retirement accommodation to cater for “the silver tsunami”, caused by an influx of retirees to the Bay of Islands.
However, in March 2024 Sumpter said the village was scaling back plans to build an extra 180 retirement accommodation units on the land.
That was because the addition of new and expanding retirement villages in the area – including the $170m Arvida complex on Hall Rd and Metlifecare’s Oakridge care home on Cobham Rd – meant that much of the local demand had been met.
The village proposed to sell the land to a community-focused developer or philanthropist who would build 29 townhouses to rent to service industry workers and their families.
The Hawkings Cres properties are now on market with Real Kerikeri marketed as “rare opportunities for our first time buyers, landlords and developers”.
The two-to-four-bedroom houses are priced at between $575,000 and $699,000, and the empty section is $390,000.
A fifth property that is also for sale is owned by a benefactor of the village who wanted to be part of the failed development project, taking the total market value of the properties to $2.9m.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan said developer appetite “would be limited” in Kerikeri.
However, selling the properties on the open market was a win for first home buyers and investors, he said.
“We’re seeing developers come back into the market and making purchases or hoping to do spec build stuff.
“But in places like the Far North, buyer demand might be limited.
“For developers to make the numbers work they’re targeting more established markets with a bigger buyer pool.
“But it’s a win for investors and first home buyers.”
Sumpter said proceeds from the sales would be channelled into a new community centre currently being built on village grounds.
Construction of the 1000sq m centre is due for completion in the second half of next year.
Sumpter hoped the centre would also become an asset for the wider Kerikeri area as a potential venue for events, functions and activities.
“Our existing social centre has pretty-much done its dash and it was certainly time to build something that better meets the needs of our residents,” she said.
A village spokesperson confirmed “some properties” were bought on Stella Drive and Wendywood Lane, but couldn’t say how many.
They were still owned by the village, and there were no plans to sell them, he said.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and animal welfare issues.
