Summerset senior development manager Tom Calvin said it had become increasingly difficult in New Zealand to acquire suitable land to get retirement villages built.
The firm typically needed 9ha or 10ha for a development, usually greenfield sites on relatively flat terrain in urban areas or on the urban fringe.
Summerset, which had recently acquired land in Mosgiel for a development, was New Zealand’s second-largest developer and operator of retirement villages, Mr Calvin said.
It specialised in a comprehensive care model that covered a range of needs, including more advanced care suitable for an older cohort.
"The provision of new comprehensive-care retirement villages is vital to address an aged-care crisis that is unfolding in New Zealand," Mr Calvin said.
There had been an unprecedented rate of aged-care bed closures since the Covid-19 pandemic and government funding pressures were also unhelpful for the sector.
"We all know that New Zealand’s population aged over 70 is projected to significantly increase in the coming decades, and Dunedin is not immune from that statistic," Mr Calvin said.
"There is going to be an ever-growing need in the next 30-plus years for retirement villages and aged care to cater for that rapidly growing elderly cohort."
Mr Calvin was one of the speakers yesterday for a Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council future development strategy hearing.
The strategy needed to do more than get the balance right in ensuring there was enough housing capacity for the overall population, he said.
Different types of housing, including accommodation most suitable for aged care, needed to be kept in mind and this should be tracked, he said.
Mr Calvin said there was considerable reliance in Dunedin’s draft strategy on intensification of housing, rather than looking to open up more greenfield sites.
Another big housing provider at the hearing yesterday was Kāinga Ora, which drew attention to infrastructure constraints in the city.
The government housing agency, New Zealand’s biggest landlord, was worried about barriers to redevelopment, such as Three Waters network limitations. Some infrastructure upgrades are forecast to happen about 30 years from now.
Kāinga Ora asked for a policy directive to support pathways for accelerated delivery of additional housing, as this might enable bespoke or innovative solutions.
Agency representative Joshua Neville said Dunedin had some of the oldest homes in its portfolio and many were built before 1960.
"The age and condition of this housing means a significant number are in need of renewal or replacement," he said.
This created a chance to redevelop sites at higher intensity to better use the land.
The future development strategy hearing is to continue into next week.
