{"id":493270,"date":"2026-06-24T13:23:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/493270\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T13:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T13:23:15","slug":"taurangas-800m-wright-family-expands-housing-retirement-village-plans-10-projects-listed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/493270\/","title":{"rendered":"Tauranga\u2019s $800m Wright family expands housing, retirement village plans: 10 projects listed"},"content":{"rendered":"

The meeting was at one of the housing projects: Takapuna\u2019s Loxley Apartments.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Wrights appear on the National Business Review Rich List<\/a> with the late Wayne Wright labelled a childcare titan for creating the country\u2019s biggest early childhood education chain, BestStart, originally known as Kidicorp. <\/p>\n

Wealth estimates rose from $400m to $800m because the charity was included in the asset base via NBR calculations.<\/p>\n

Wayne Wright jnr said Wright Family Investments\u2019 focus was now on residential and retirement village units<\/a>, particularly in fast-growing areas with good motorway and road access.<\/p>\n

He emphasised the separation between the charitable Wright Family Foundation<\/a> and Wright Family Investments.<\/p>\n

\"FatherFather Wayne and daughter Ally Wright in Takapuna. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n

Projects by Wright Family Investments are listed below.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany developers have all their eggs in one basket, but what my father has set up has given us diversification,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

An 800-lot Warkworth residential project, the family bought the troubled Stubbs Farm, and through a trust own 100% of this project. <\/p>\n

\u201cExtensive bulk earthworks have been undertaken, and we expect to start selling lots about April 2027. This project will take five to seven years to sell down all 800 lots.<\/p>\n

\u201cWright Family Investments will retain ownership of the planned 4ha village that will be built to the highest standard to reflect our commitment to quality and family legacy,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

The majority owner of The Botanic, a Silverdale retirement village, is expanding from 140 homes. <\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, we expect about 380 villas, apartments and care units. The level of fit and finish is second to none on the North Shore,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

Paeroa Hills, on the ex-Paeroa racecourse, is being developed into a 300-lot housing estate with a new town centre. Wright Family Investments owns 100%. <\/p>\n

\" The Chloe Wright Memorial Chapel at Paeroa, under construction. Photo \/ Wright Family Investments<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will include 300 premium house sites along with a new 2ha village, a beautiful wedding chapel called after my mother, the Chloe Wright Memorial Chapel, a new Tote Restaurant, cycling trail, community park and other community features. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs with Warkworth, all house sites come with building conditions or covenants to ensure a high standard and pleasing visual experience, plus permanent behavioural expectations,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

\" The Chloe Wright Memorial Chapel at Paeroa. Photo \/ Wright Family Investments<\/p>\n

The Longridge Retirement Village sits across the highway from Paeroa Hills. <\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously, my father oversaw the racecourse [development], and me the retirement village. Now I do both. Wright Family Investments is the majority owner of the retirement village. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis village has about 140 occupied villas with the anticipation of 230 plus 60 care units when complete.\u201d<\/p>\n

76-unit apartment building, 35 Johnston St, Wellington. <\/p>\n

This has operated as Quest on Johnston for about 25 years but change is afoot. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe downturn in the Wellington economy over the last few years has given cause to evaluate the viability of the hotel. <\/p>\n

\u201cI recently decided to pivot from being a hotel operator to repurposing the building to furnished apartments with long-term tenancies. <\/p>\n

\u201cI intend to offer our apartment units to Best Start early childhood teachers and support staff at a 25% discount to market rates in recognition of the outstanding work they do that makes our philanthropic organisation, Wright Family Foundation, possible,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

\"WayneWayne Wright detailed 10 projects the business is involved in. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n

A Palmerston North birthing centre<\/p>\n

The centre has been running for more than five years, with the local district health board operating it. <\/p>\n

\u201cWright Family Investments own the building and remains the landlord, but we also own the Cravings Cafe, which occupies the street frontage space. I am currently reviewing the cafe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tidel View apartments, Ferrymead, Christchurch. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have completed construction of townhouses that now stand where our former Watersedge Apartments succumbed to the Christchurch earthquakes. The last 10 townhouses are currently being marketed. \u201d<\/p>\n

46-unit Loxley apartments, Takapuna, Auckland<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Loxley Apartments, Tennyson Ave, Takapuna. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n

These are on Tennyson Ave, Takapuna.<\/p>\n

The developer defaulted on the mortgage from the Wright-owned WFT Finance, hence it is now finishing them off, with Wright aiming to sell either as one property or individually.<\/p>\n

Roydvale Apartments, Burnside, Christchurch. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are currently building 20 townhouses there and expect units to be selling by the end of the year,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

\"OpitoOpito Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula. <\/p>\n

Opito Point Lodge, Coromandel<\/p>\n

\u201cWe built and operate a luxury lodge built to the highest standard, that commands upwards of $10,000\/night for the most discerning guests,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

Other investments<\/p>\n

\"JacksJacks Point beneath the Remarkables outside Queenstown. <\/p>\n

That is not the end of the list.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also own properties in Riverhead, Paeroa, P\u0101p\u0101moa, P\u014dkeno, Jack\u2019s Point and others that I am considering for further development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also invest in companies linked to food storage, sporting goods, property management, technology, waste management and other sectors,\u201d Wright said.<\/p>\n

He is the eldest of five offspring of the late Chloe and Wayne Wright. Wayne Wright died earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a 17-year age spread between my youngest brother and me,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"LoxleyLoxley Apartments, Tennyson Ave, Takapuna. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n

Of Takapuna\u2019s never-lived-in, empty-for-a-year Loxley Apartments, he would sell all 46 units to a build-to-rent business or sell them individually to owner\/occupiers.<\/p>\n

If sold individually, $750,000 to $1.1m is the tentative price tag for the units in a four-level building with two basement levels, tucked into a slope that leads down to the adjacent busy Esmonde Rd.<\/p>\n

\"AlmostAlmost finished: The Loxley, Takapuna. Photo \/Jason Dorday<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no debt on the building; we\u2019re flexible on the sell-down,\u201d said Wright.<\/p>\n

If sold as one completed project, Wright envisages the potential of a discount to market value.<\/p>\n

But he emphasised the finish on the building had been completed to a high level after he took over from failed developer and former bankrupt Andrew Bendemski<\/a>, the sole director of Tennyson GCO.<\/p>\n

The family-owned lender WFT Finance loaned money to Bendemski\u2019s company, hence Wright\u2019s direct involvement.<\/p>\n

Wright listed outstanding issues, including engineering and council reports.<\/p>\n

The halfway number between $750,000 and $1.1m is $875,000, which means Wright Family Investments own a $40.2m building if those prices are achieved.<\/p>\n

Two blocks are joined by an internal corridor walkway. <\/p>\n

Anne Gibson<\/a> has been the Herald\u2019s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.<\/p>\n

Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The meeting was at one of the housing projects: Takapuna\u2019s Loxley Apartments. The Wrights appear on the National…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9055,131762,110698,3225,19092,64582,84183,3602,12252,2109,2209,71,42,3339,1426,4507,68601,1132,43,1523,2171,13578,294,19554,37865,1961,40,38,41,39,23534,3543,379],"class_list":["post-493270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-9055","tag-131762","tag-800m","tag-according","tag-assets","tag-charitable","tag-controls","tag-earlier","tag-expands","tag-family","tag-father","tag-from","tag-headlines","tag-housing","tag-investment","tag-late","tag-listed","tag-million","tag-news","tag-over","tag-plans","tag-projects","tag-retirement","tag-taken","tag-taurangas","tag-this","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-village","tag-wright","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}