The Australian-owned New Zealand-operated company purchased a 1.9ha block of land in Shetland St, Dunedin, for $1.4 million and last week received Overseas Investment Office clearance.
Summerset's general manager of marketing and sales, Tristan Saunders, contacted yesterday, said Dunedin was short-listed for development of a total five land-banked properties at present.
Details of the project, resource consent applications and construction tendering were most likely to go ahead during 2011.
"The Dunedin concept has still not been finalised, but [being urban] will have a mix of villas and multilevel apartments," he said yesterday.
Mr Saunders said Summerset, which has 12 North Island developments housing about 1450 people, had a "typical" development which was usually on about 6ha of land in a rural setting, comprising 90 to 100 villas and hospital-care facilities for 150 to 250 people and costing $40 million to $50 million.
He said demographic changes predicted a 150% increase of people aged over 65 between 2010 and 2050.
Summerset was New Zealand's third-largest retirement operator and maintaining quality lifestyle villages was key to market leadership.
Summerset, founded in 1994, is owned by AMP Capital Investors and Quadrant Private Equity Group.
Asked if the company was considering listing on the stock market, Mr Saunders said there were "no immediate plans" to do so, but listing was one of several options which could be considered if more capital was sought in the future.
Summerset had a strategy to move into the South Island in coming years, but Mr Saunders was unable to disclose if it had purchased any more land, other than the Dunedin section.
Summerset's overall target was to have 20 villages completed, or under development, by 2012, he said.
