Waitaki District Health Services has more certainty about how to advance plans to build its $21 million Observatory Hill Retirement Village in Oamaru.
The company, solely owned by the Waitaki District Council, yesterday changed its proposal for ownership and operation of the development, allowing it to invest about $400,000 to reach the tender stage.
Ownership will be under three charitable entities, one to own it and two to operate facilities, rather than council-controlled companies.
The company will make all decisions about the project, including whether to build it.
However, the council will decide whether to invest in the village, and how much. An original request was for $5 million.
The village, to be built in three stages over two years, on 7.9ha the council will sell to the company, will provide services for independent elderly through to those requiring rest-home or hospital-level care, with 40 beds.
It will have up to 12 apartments and 21 villas offering accommodation from independent living to requested care.
Council chief financial officer Paul Hope said this was the sixth time decisions about the village had come before councillors.
''Other than a loan, this will conclude many issues and give the company certainty about the actions expected of it,'' he said.
The next step for the company is to spend $400,000 on design and documentation for building consents, before calling tenders.
A peer review of the company's business plan by independent consultants experienced in the aged-care sector found two issues - the final cost of development (including price escalation and other costs such as marketing, bank loans fees and professional costs) and GST treatment on the community centre - needed to be clarified.
However, they were not significant enough to prevent the project proceeding.
Health services company director Ian Hurst said the report was ''helpful to the company and council'' and issues it raised would be incorporated in the next stage of fully assessing the project.
Cr Hugh Perkins asked if the company should consider building the villas and apartments first, as other village developers had done.
