Retirement village operator confirms it has bought Wellington's Karori Campus

Tuesday, 12 December 2017

Victoria University's Karori Campus has been sold to a rest home operator.

Wellington's former teachers' college will become a retirement village.

The campus, in the suburb of Karori, now belongs to Ryman Healthcare after a long fight from the Ministry of Education and Wellington City Council to keep it in public hands.

The campus is about to become a retirement village.

One opponent said there is a widely-felt feeling in Karori that retirement homes 'suck energy out of a community' and the council could have tried harder to acquire it.

But Wellington city councillor Dianne Calvert said the council had done its best to consider their right to purchase under the Public Works Act.

Abandoned library rooms in Victoria University's Karori campus.

* Spat between university and ministry goes public over Karori campus

* Game's up: Wellington's Karori Campus going to private sale**

'We can't just buy it and use the ratepayers money … we're not property developers.'

The council wanted to meet with Ryman Healthcare as soon as possible to talk with them about their plans, she said.

In 2014 the land was transferred to Victoria University for $10.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Guilford said on Tuesday they could not reveal the amount Ryman Healthcare paid for the site, but it was sold at market value.

Ryman delighted to secure site in Karori for retired people of Wellington. Former uni site to be transformed into retirement village!

— Ryman Healthcare (@RymanHealthcare) December 11, 2017

The university ran a competitive tender process, he said. 'Otherwise, you're short-changing the taxpayer.'

There was a risk the buildings would be left to deteriorate, which would have been 'a disaster' for the community, Guilford said.

Ryman Healthcare would use a portion of the existing buildings, and were going through a consultation process with Heritage New Zealand.

No public offers were received for buildings for the site.

Ryman Group development manager Andrew Mitchell described the site as 'iconic'.

They planned to convert the campus into a retirement village as well as hospital, rest home and facility with dementia-level care, he said.

'Our villages become an integral part of the local community over the long term, providing a safe living environment for residents, as well as other social, economic and employment benefits for many people throughout the community.'

Ryman spokesman David King said engineers had

not finalised the size and capacity of the retirement village, nor had they set a timeframe for construction or decided on the fate of the campus buildings.

There was a shortage of care and retirement options available in the Karori area, and since indicating interest in May they had already received numerous enquiries, he said.

Karori Campus Group spokesman Richard Bentley, a long advocate for the land to stay in public hands, said the sale could be a massive lost oppportunity for Karori.

But he was not surprised it had been sold as a retirement home.

'The council have not taken an interest in the site as a whole.'

Bentley said he wanted Ryman to facilitate access by existing users to the courts, dance studio and the Allen Ward VC Hall until the months before construction.

'I would hope that some of the buildings that are there, the courts etc., could have a community component to them.'

Ministry of Education secretary for education Iona Holsted said they were satisfied that requirements of the Act were met.

'We know that this decision will be disappointing for some in the Karori community, but we have worked hard to secure the land for a technology hub and are obliged to consider value for money for the taxpayer.'

Ministry staff were investigating options to meet the technology provision for Wellington schools, she said.