Controversial Karori retirement village canned

Monday, 27 May 2024

The former teachers’ college was going to become a retirement village.

A planned Wellington retirement village, mired in controversy for years, has been canned.

Ryman Healthcare had planned the Karori village for about 300 residents but confirmed on Monday it was putting the land up for sale.

The site was formerly the Wellington Teachers' College. Ryman bought the site from Victoria University of Wellington for $28m in 2017.

While the university began running teacher training there in 2004, it took over the property title from the Ministry of Education in 2015 for a transfer fee of just $10.

The $320m retirement village proposal was not without opposition, with groups such as Responsible Development Karori challenging the design and impact of the project.

But a panel of independent commissioners gave the project resource consent in 2022.

Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga had previously been in the process of trying to get a heritage listing on the main block, which had been described as a classic example of brutalist architecture. But Ryman demolished it before it got any protection.

In 2018 it was revealed that the Wellington City Council had tried to stop demolition but, it was understood and reported at the time that in a heated meeting Ryman said it could and would demolish buildings regardless of any opposition.