Construction of Oamaru's $23million retirement village is on track and the facility is due to open in 2017.
Work on the 41-bed care facility started in January.
It will comprise eight single apartments and four double apartments and provide independent living for people 70 years old and over,
Observatory Village Lifecare Ltd director Ian Hurst said this week.
"We are delighted with where it is at the present time,'' Mr Hurst said.
Project manager Michael Forgie said the nine-month earthworks programme, which included "all the infrastructure that goes with a variety of services'', meant over 20,000cu m of earth had been shifted on the site to nearly level the entire 2ha block at the top of Stoke St.
Crews had built a retaining wall and laid a foundation for the apartment block and would drop the first part of the flooring on Monday.
Mr Forgie said the only trades people from out of town were those installing sprinklers and fire alarms, and doing part of the mechanical work.
Mr Hurst said there were 60 to 70 people on site at peak construction.
"And the vast majority of those are our own people from our own community.''
The first stage of the Observatory Retirement Village would include 21 villas and 12 apartments, and already there had been more than 50 expressions of interest, Mr Hurst said.
