Palms Lifestyle Village

The Palms Lifestyle Village is a 10-hectare retirement community in Whangārei, delivered in three stages over ten years. The completed development includes 168 villas, 55 apartments, 16 care units and shared community facilities. Cook Costello provided surveying and engineering services across all three stages of the project.

Key design challenges included maintaining privacy, accessibility and amenity for residents, while designing foundations and retaining walls to suit the variable cohesive clay soils present across the site. The project also required stormwater design for a relatively flat site with an existing watercourse and capacity for a 1% AEP flood event.

Our multidisciplinary team provided:

• Land surveying – scheme plans, construction set-out, as-builts, and certification

• Geotechnical investigations – hazard assessment, ground condition analysis and recommendations to reduce development risk

• Civil design – earthworks, roading, pavements and stormwater management

• Structural design – retaining walls, foundations and building structures

• Construction monitoring & certification – observation and documentation to support quality and compliance during construction

By working collaboratively across disciplines, we were able to deliver tailored solutions that added value for both the client and future residents. Key outcomes included:

• The natural watercourse was retained and incorporated into the stormwater design, providing drainage function while contributing to the village’s landscaped setting.

• Building layouts were planned to maximise sunlight, privacy, accessibility and amenity.

• A staged design approach gave the client flexibility to manage investment and delivery over time.

• Surveying, geotechnical, civil and structural inputs were coordinated through one team, helping keep each stage aligned as the village grew.

Delivered over a decade, Palms Lifestyle Village demonstrates the value of coordinated engineering and surveying on staged residential developments, where technical decisions need to support construction, consent and long-term resident wellbeing.