To the lake house

Pāpāmoa’s Pacific Lakes Village opens the doors of its celebrated Lake House.

WORDS MONIQUE BALVERT-O’CONNOR / PHOTOS JAHL MARSHALL

Wine and cheese? Yes, please! Relax and enjoy sumptuous surroundings.

Some may ponder whether it’s possible, but life has just got even better at Pacific Lakes Village. The already widely admired lifestyle village, located on the coastal stretch between Mt Maunganui and Pāpāmoa, has recently celebrated the opening of its much-anticipated Lake House community facility and bowling green. Pacific Lakes Village manager Mark Vincent says the Lake House − so named as it’s beautifully positioned over one of the village’s formed lakes − will cater for a wide range of resident activities. Architecturally designed by Sumich Chaplin, the Lake House offers a fabulous community hub for events, activities, and socialising, incorporating sweeping decks and a barbecue area over the lake. It is also home to the Little Green Café, which has been welcomed with great excitement by residents, Mark says. Adding to the socialisation options, and positioned alongside, is a full-size, green-weave bowling green. “Our intention has always been to offer our residents a unique, modern, and engaging community with resort- style living in a place that is both tranquil and energising. The Lake House is a big part of that picture. We’re delighted and encouraged by the positive feedback we are receiving from everyone who is so proud to call this village home, and from those hoping to make it home,” Mark says. Highlighting the sustainable ethos of Pacific Lakes, the Lake House is supplemented by solar power. The lakes have been developed as a sustainable stormwater detention system, creating an ecosystem via a series of waterways, fed from rainwater and natural aquifers that will support the regeneration of plant and birdlife. “Aligned with sustainable building design, we have carefully considered building materials and have selected environmentally preferable solutions where possible.” Mark says the completion of the Lake House demonstrates the direction and quality of Pacific Lakes Village and has been a big milestone for them.

“The village has been highly sought after and we already have more than 200 residents moved in. The Lake House and bowing green will provide the perfect setting to cement the village’s growing community spirit and demonstrate the level of amenity being provided. By the end of the year, 160 homes will have been constructed. When completed, the village will comprise 250 homes set among tranquil park-like grounds and private lakes. The next stage of villas and terrace houses are selling now.”

While the Lake House (which opened in mid-May) is already garnering many ticks of approval, it is actually a precursor to a planned and much larger pavilion, some 2,500 square metres in area. The Pavilion will connect to the Lake House via a walk bridge across the lake and will be home to further hospitality, wellbeing, and leisure amenities, all of which will commence construction later this year. Pacific Lakes is part of the Generus Living Group, which has an unrivalled reputation for creating some of New Zealand’s most respected lifestyle villages. That respect includes an appreciation that Generus Living strives to make a difference in providing upmarket, sustainable living environments.

Generus Living director Graham Wilkinson says the rapidly burgeoning Bay of Plenty population will be watching this village with interest, especially those seeking a more upscale living and care environment than previously offered in the area.

SUSTAINABILITY ABOUNDS

Pacific Lakes Village is steeped in sustainable and eco-friendly ways of living, and its residents are loving this. A recent resident survey illustrated that a sustainable lifestyle is either important or very important to 94 percent of village residents, with more than half of the respondents saying the approach to sustainability contributed to their decision to purchase at the village.

Examples of this approach are many, and include the following: • The Lake House is the first of its kind − almost everything about the building celebrates sustainability. • The Little Green Café products have been mindfully selected. For example, the menu features coffee sourced from ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible traders, and an organic soda range from a Kiwi company on a mission to find ingredients good for the land, and good for the people who grow and consume them. • The Little Green Café also minimises its waste, which is destined for the village’s worm farms or green-waste composting facilities. Ecoware takeaway cups are made from plants, although residents are also encouraged to bring their own keep cups. • Pacific Lakes Village has received gold status on

Tauranga City Council’s Resource Wise Business

Programme, thanks to diverting more than 98 percent of operational waste from landfill. • Chemical use is minimised in landscaping, solar energy is utilised, LED lighting is favoured, and there are EV charging stations for resident and visitors’ use. In short − a sustainable lens is adopted to all aspects of the business.

BENEFITING THE COMMUNITY

“When completed, Pacific Lakes Village will have involved an investment of almost $300 million, with the bulk of this going to suppliers and contractors in the local area,” says Graham. The village also provides ongoing employment opportunities as it continues to expand.

“Generus Living enjoys supporting the community and is involved in a variety of initiatives, such as its sustainability programme − achieving gold status on Tauranga City Council’s Resource Wise Business Programme or, more recently, the introduction of the Ebba Te Tua scholarship. The scholarship has been established with Generus’s partner Mangatawa Pāpāmoa Blocks Incorporated, with its primary focus to further Māori education.”

Generus Living and Mangatawa Pāpāmoa Blocks Incorporated have been in partnership for almost a decade, initially with the development of Pacific Coast Village and now Pacific Lakes Village. This unique partnership is a marriage of experience and capital with land and tradition, and is committed to continuing to collaborate and create value with and for the community it serves.

PACIFICLAKES.CO.NZ