Olive Estate has opened a new park that is designed as a space to connect with the wider community and form a link in a pedestrian pathway through the Richmond retirement village.
Central Park was officially opened last week by Tasman Mayor Tim King and is the latest development in the village which took its first steps in 2012 and continues to grow over the 12ha site.
Its next major milestone will be a care centre at the top of the village and managing director Kristin Nimmo says they are hoping to have a spade in the ground later this year, once building consent is gained.
The centre will house 57 care rooms and 19 serviced apartments to provide rest home, hospital and memory care.
For now, the focus is on the newly-planted Central Park that forms part of the pedestrian pathway being created between Wensley Rd and Hill St.
As well as outdoor exercise equipment, a herb and flower garden and seated areas, it also has ‘Tom’s chess park’ and becomes the second park to be created at Olive Estate for public use as well as residents.
“It’s about integration; it makes you feel like you’re moving through a typical subdivision and village residents are a key part of the community,” Kristin says.
She says the dream was always to build a village with park spaces for people to connect within the village and with the wider community.
That community has been the reason the village has invested more than $100 million into the local community since it began its development, by supporting local businesses and contractors in the process. She says, that will continue.
