Racecourse to become village hub in $60m Paeroa Hills project

Tuesday, 6 May 2025

The racecourse is being redeveloped into a mixed-use precinct in what entrepreneur Wayne Wright is calling a ‘legacy project’.

A $50 to $60 million investment is set to reshape Paeroa’s landscape, turning the town’s former racecourse into a multi-use community precinct.

It’s a “legacy project” for entrepreneur and Wright Family Foundation founder Wayne Wright, who’s spearheading development at the former home of the Paeroa Racing Club, bought three years ago.

His vision for the 33.5-hectare site is a mixed-use neighbourhood with housing, retail, hospitality, and community facilities.

“We look at this as a legacy project,” he said. “If it makes money, well, whoopee. It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other.”

However, he added, “if you build an attractive development in an attractive area at attractive prices, they will come”.

‘It’s a fairly economical place to live and it’s close to everything,’ Wayne Wright says.

With $10 to $12 million already invested in the racecourse, the bulk of earthworks and infrastructure installation is now underway.

Wright wants the groundwork - including roads, utilities and substructures - complete by the end of 2027, with construction progressing into the next decade.

A new roundabout will provide access to the site, which will feature 240-plus dwellings, depending on future stages. The project also includes a 24-unit four-storey apartment block with potential for a second, a community shopping centre, a motel catering to cycling tourists, a restaurant replicating the old tote building, a chapel designed by Wright’s late wife Chloe, a cluster of disability-friendly homes, and green spaces like a skate park and children’s playground.

There are several stages in the Paeroa Hills project plan.

Wright, who also owns the Longridge Country Estate retirement village across the road, said they’re complementary.

Longridge currently has about 120 completed units, housing roughly 170 residents, and has land consented for up to 420 units.

Together, Paeroa Hills and Longridge are projected to boost Paeroa’s population by about 30%.

“It’s a fairly economical place to live and it’s close to everything,” he said.

Wright doesn’t plan to build the homes at the racecourse site himself. “I’ll just provide the lots and building companies will build them,” he said.

The project includes an apartment block, a motel catering to cycling tourists, a restaurant and a chapel designed by Wright’s late wife Chloe.

The former racecourse fell into disuse after race day numbers dwindled, pushing the Paeroa Racing Club into financial decline.

After a complex chain of ownership, Wright bought the property for about $3.5 million, with a further purchase of 10 adjacent acres to support road access and lifestyle blocks.

He felt the previous developer “alienated the local population” by locking the gates, but his aim was to restore the site as a “community asset”.

One key historical structure - the grandstand - remains standing and its future hasn’t been decided.

The grandstand’s still standing and its future hasn’t been decided yet.

“At the moment it’s used by people for weddings and community groups use it for all sorts of functions, and they pay a donation to the RSA,” Wright said.

“We’re trying to maintain the history of the place whilst at the same time making it functional,” he said. “This is a legacy project… [His late wife Chloe Wright’s] name will be on the chapel because she designed it.”

Hauraki Mayor Toby Adams praised the project as a “great thing” for a site that had sat dormant and uncertain.

“To have someone come in that can afford, has the confidence, and wants to give back to the locals by doing the subdivision means a lot to us,” Adams said.

Hauraki Mayor Toby Adams praised the Paeroa Hills project as a ‘great thing’ for a site that had sat dormant and uncertain.

He said lifestyle shifts post-Covid had led more people to seek small-town living, boosting demand for housing in areas like Paeroa.

“There was a point not long ago where there was not a single section for sale and houses were selling within days,” he said.

Adams said the two developments - the Paeroa Hills site and Longridge - were attracting both retirees and younger families wanting to be closer to loved ones or escape city congestion.

The council was working to ensure infrastructure keeps pace.

Paeroa Hills groundwork is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, with construction progressing into the next decade.

“We’ve been very proactive… to ensure that we are always above the curve and ensuring we’ve got the right infrastructure needed to meet compliance needs, obviously, but future growth,” Adams said.

According to Hauraki District Council, the site was rezoned in 2022 to allow for a mix of residential, commercial, and community-focused developments. Earthworks consent has been granted and implemented.

A first-stage subdivision application - proposing seven large lots for future development - is under review, along with two land-use consents for an apartment block and a restaurant.

Wright envisions most commercial tenants will offer convenience services like hairdressers and dentists, and he says it won’t compete with Paeroa’s town centre.

“This will just be a little small regional shopping centre to primarily service the retirement village, people living around here, passing traffic,” he said.

Wright, who turns 80 next year, describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” with a string of ventures behind him, including owning early childhood education provider Best Start.