RETIREMENT LIVING AT NORTHBRIDGE
As our population ages, retirement living is changing. The North Shore has seen a whole range of villages open in recent years, providing a variety of options for those at retirement age. One could say we’re spoilt for choice. One iconic North Shore village is Northbridge – located on a 16 acre site opposite AUT on Akoranga Drive. This village has been around since 1976 (45 years) and as a not-for-profit charitable trust offers a real point of difference for residents. Channel Mag’s Aidan Bennett went along to talk to Northbridge Lifecare Trust director James Jordan during April, to learn more about the popular village.
Northbridge – making retirement easy, affordable and very comfortable By Aidan Bennett First of all I need to declare my bias. I love retirement villages. My mum lives in one and I am sold on the lifestyles they offer for those in their senior years. My first visit to Northbridge did nothing to change my mind. In fact with the point of difference the facility offers, it only made me a bigger fan. Firstly, a big difference with Northbridge is that it is a not-for-profit charitable trust. It is owned and managed by the Northbridge Lifecare Trust. Its aim is to provide a vigorous and supportive community for people over the age of 60. The Trust was founded in December 1972 when the trust deed was incorporated under the Charitable Trust Act 1957. A group of forward-thinking Aucklanders identified very early that there was a need to provide secure accommodation for retired people and care for them for life. In July 1973 the board confirmed the purchase of the current site on Akoranga Drive for $130,000. In November 1974 work commenced on building the first four apartment blocks comprising 32 dwellings. Interestingly back then apartments were priced between $31,500 to $58,500. The village was fully completed in stages over a decade, by 1983. A decade later further apartment buildings were completed. The trustees operate under a clear set of founding principles and guidelines (these are included on this page). Fast forward to 2021 and Northbridge has 205 Apartments, 19 Serviced Apartments, a 45 Room Rest Home, a 16 Room Memory
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Care Centre and a 35 Bed Continuing Care Hospital. Making it one of New Zealand’s most equipped retirement villages. There are 270 people who call Northbridge home, residing in the independent and assisted living apartments. “A big plus for the Northbridge community is that the money stays with the trust for the benefit of the trust,” explains Trust director James Jordan. “This means we can really deliver on key principles such as affordable living and caring for people for life. “While we are building 48 new apartments, the fact that we are a very well established village also means we can keep things more affordable than others. If we were in the position of having to purchase land and build a totally new facility then we wouldn’t be able to offer such affordable options. We are fortunate that the founders were forward thinking and our job now is to enhance what we’ve already got. Ensuring it is changing, modern and always fit for purpose.” Northbridge Lifecare Trust is well into a capital project redeveloping sections of the Village. The new state-of-the-art buildings collect rain water for use in the village's grey water system and there is an extensive solar panel network contributing power to the building. Stage one was completed in 2018. This was 31 new two-bedroom apartments and additional facilities including an indoor heated pool, spa pool, gymnasium, movie theatre and snooker room. Stage two was completed in 2019 and involved the reconstruction
