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Peacehaven Village will be redeveloped in the coming years to better suit the needs of its residents. (File photo)
More than 20 senior renters will have to leave their homes as their charitable landlord edges closer to realising its redevelopment plans.
Invercargill’s Peacehaven Village is an aged care home and residential village run by Presbyterian Support Southland.
The site also offers rental accommodation for about 25 seniors, however, that is about to come to an end.
The plan for the redevelopment, designed to create a vibrant, modern community that met the needs of its residents, was signed off last month by the PSS Trust Board, the trust said in a statement.
Board chair Craig Smith said it was time to reinvest in the village, given some of it was nearing 70 years old.
“Our decision to reinvest and develop onsite signals our long-term intention and commitment to aged care services in Southland.”
Work on the first stage was expected to start in the second half of 2024.
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Peacehaven Village is on Tweed St in Invercargill. (File photo)
Smith acknowledged there was some distress among existing renters at the news they would have to move over the next three years.
“We will provide our renters with approximately 12 months’ notice from when their respective unit is about to be affected during the redevelopment, to allow them time to secure alternative accommodation,” Smith said.
“We will also work with other aged care and housing providers to assist where we can with identifying suitable alternative accommodation.”
The proposal would see the existing cottages replaced with modern Occupational Right Agreement units – units a person can live in until they die – and a new village community centre to consolidate village amenities and ensure the site’s services were fit for the future, the statement said.
Supplied
Matt Russell is the chief executive of Presbyterian Support Southland. (File photo)
PSS chief executive Matt Russell, senior staff, and board members met with agreement holders and the renters on Friday, to talk through the proposed plans and discuss how it would affect them, and the options available to them.
In the statement, the trust said the decision was not made lightly, but with increasing refurbishment costs and recent changes to tenancy requirements, the board felt it was important to balance safe, warm, modern facilities alongside the long-term financial sustainability of Presbyterian Support Southland.
The charitable trust would continue to consult with agreement residents around the proposed final concept plan and seek their feedback.
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