66 | Livingstone Building NZ T T Kim Newth Resthaven apartments taking shape Five months into their latest construction project for Cambridge Resthaven, Livingstone Building’s team is progressing well on-site with pre-cast panels now starting to be erected for the charitable trust’s new 21-apartment retirement building at Resthaven on Vogel. Unlike most retirement villages, Cambridge Resthaven is fully community-owned and run by a volunteer-led trust board. To keep pace with rising need in the local community, Cambridge Resthaven has proactively developed its sites and services over many years. Resthaven’s growth includes the expansion of their village in Vogel St, the inclusion of Resthaven on Burns, and the completion in 2024 of a new apartment and care studios building (the Hanlin Building) plus a café and general store, marking the first stage of a new multi-million dollar development. Livingstone has a long history with Cambridge Resthaven, having previously delivered 46 villas and a community care centre (2023-26) and the first stage Hanlin building development at Resthaven on Vogel. The latest three-storey apartment building, currently underway and due to be completed in April 2027, is adjacent to the Hanlin Building and will feature 21 new two-bedroom supported living apartments. “I’ve personally been involved with projects at Cambridge Resthaven for nearly 20 years and it’s exciting to now be a part of this latest stage as well,” says Neville Davy, Project Director at Livingstone Building. “Having modern, architecturally designed buildings and facilities like these is good for the community and Cambridge.” Chow:Hill Architects is Livingstone’s design partner for the new building at Resthaven on Vogel, with MSC on board as consulting engineers, Fluid for hydraulic design and Team Cabling for electrical design. “We’ve worked with Chow:Hill on various projects around the country over the years. For this latest project, boundary restrictions dictated a different design approach [compared to the four-storey Hanlin building]. The final design works well in so many ways, by providing more height inside the apartments as well as being a nice fit with the rest of the complex — we think the new building will have a lot of street appeal too.” Some old apartments and a quiet room, once used as a church some years ago, were cleared from the site last year to make way for the new building. Stained glass windows and character beams saved from the quiet room will be re-used in the new building’s ground floor lounge area. “In pre-construction, there were discussions about re-using materials. We’re really pleased that the old lead lights will feature in the new building.” Neville says the overall design is relatively straightforward from a build perspective. The challenge lies in it being on a tight site with restricted traffic movement and in a live environment. Careful planning and preparation has ensured a smooth construction process to date. The construction site has been safely fenced off from residents and Cambridge Resthaven is also being kept well-informed of progress via fortnightly site meetings and a monthly meeting with the board. As well, the team is in daily contact with the trust’s assets manager. As construction activity peaks later this year, Livingstone expects to have up to 45 people working on site at any given time including their project manager, site manager and two QS staff along with various subcontractors. As a leading commercial construction company, Livingstone has been proudly making a difference in their local communities for over 75 years. They operate out of four main regional branches including Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Taranaki, with satellite offices in Rotorua, Taupo and Wellington. Their strong team delivers projects for key clients throughout New Zealand. Neville says that Livingstone has started 2026 strongly, continuing on from a good run in 2025. “We’re confident about the year ahead; it looks pretty promising.” DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT Commercial | Residential | Education Health and Aged Care | Heritage | Seismic Local and Central Government | Heritage Infrastructure | Industrial octa.co.nz office@hn.octa.co.nz 07 834 2497 AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | | TAURANGA | NAPIER | NEW PLYMOUTH | NELSON WELLINGTON | CHRISTCHURCH | QUEENSTOWN | DUNEDIN
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