Ōtau Ridge achieves globally recognised Green Star Communities certification

Metlifecare’s Ōtau Ridge retirement village in Clevedon has achieved a 4-Star Green Star Communities certification from the New Zealand Green Building Council, recognising the village as a best practice example of healthy, resilient and efficient community design and planning in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Green Star Communities rating system is an internationally recognised framework that independently verifies community and precinct developments across five sustainability categories: Governance, Design, Liveability, Economic Prosperity and Environment.

Metlifecare Chief Executive Earl Gasparich says the rating reflects the deliberate design thinking that shaped Ōtau Ridge from the very beginning.

“Ōtau Ridge has shown what’s possible when sustainability is embedded from day one. The Green Star Communities rating recognises that the infrastructure decisions we made early on to create a community that is sustainable, connected to its surroundings, and designed for long-term liveability were the right ones.”

New Zealand Green Building Council CEO Andrew Eagles says Ōtau Ridge reflects what a high-quality Green Star Community can achieve.

“It is great to see this leadership from Metlifecare. Congratulations on attaining a 4 Star Green Star Communities rating. The benefits of healthy, resilient, well-connected communities are becoming increasingly clear. Comfortable homes, strong social networks, and a connection to the natural environment are essential for wellbeing. This community’s focus on nature, resilience, and iwi engagement is particularly welcome,” Andrew says.

Ōtau Ridge is already home to a certified 6-Star Green Star care home and 6-Homestar-rated villas. The latest Green Star Communities certification extends this recognition to the village as a whole – incorporating its landscape, infrastructure, connectivity, and relationship with the surrounding natural environment.

“The Green Star Communities framework provided us with a structured lens to view how residents experience village life beyond their own homes. This includes aspects like how easily residents can move around the community on foot, how the village connects to the wider Clevedon area and the quality of shared spaces.” says Earl.

Built for its environment

Iwi engagement was central to the village’s development from the outset, shaping both the physical design and the cultural identity of the community. The name Ōtau itself – an ancient name gifted to Metlifecare by Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki – carries meaning tied to the deep history of the area and translates to a safe crossing place on the awa Te Wairoa.

The village’s landscaping programme uses eco-sourced native species carefully chosen to reflect the biodiversity of the area – plants that are naturally adapted to the local climate, require less water and maintenance and provide greater resilience over time.

The native walking track that winds through the village alongside the Wairoa River offers residents a daily connection to the natural landscape and Clevedon community.

Sustainable features of Ōtau Ridge village include:

• Solar panels to reduce dependency on energy sources across the village.
• Rainwater harvesting provides practical water resilience.
• More than 26,000 eco-sourced trees, shrubs and plants have been planted along the riverbank, river terrace and natural wetland.
• A 1.8km native walking trail to connect residents to the wider Clevedon environment and community.

Metlifecare says the experience of developing Ōtau Ridge to this standard will inform how it approaches future village communities, with learnings from the integrated sustainability planning at Clevedon expected to shape village design across its portfolio.

“Projects like these challenge us to think differently about how we design and build villages. We’re proud of being able to achieve a certified Greenstar Community at Ōtau Ridge,” adds Earl.

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For further details, please contact:

Lara Harrison
External Communications Specialist
Metlifecare

E: larah@metlifecare.co.nz

About Metlifecare

Established in 1984, Metlifecare is New Zealand’s third-largest retirement living and aged care provider to more than 7,000 residents. Operating 39 villages around Aotearoa, 26 care homes and employing more than 2,000 staff, Metlifecare is committed to its vision of providing extraordinary living experiences to older New Zealanders.