Oceania Healthcare’s Franklin Village has set a new benchmark for healthy, resilient retirement living in New Zealand, becoming the first in the sector to achieve the 4 Star Green Star Communities rating.
Awarded by the New Zealand Green Building Council, the certification recognises ‘best practice’ in the design and delivery of sustainable community-based precincts, and marks an important step forward for the aged care and retirement living sector.
Oceania Healthcare CEO, Suzanne Dvorak, says this best practice rating “shows what’s possible when sustainability, care and community are at the heart of your thinking and planning from the very beginning”.
“For us this is about living our Purpose of Supporting and empowering people to live well as they age – and reflects a deliberate approach by Oceania Healthcare to building communities that better support residents over time.”
Oceania Healthcare General Manager of Property and Development, Gareth Wright, says: “Franklin Village is a meaningful step forward for the sector. This sets a clear direction for Oceania and provides a benchmark for how retirement villages in New Zealand can support healthier, more connected and more resilient living.”
Wright says “sustainability is built into the way the village and community works”.
As Oceania’s first greenfield development of this scale, Franklin Village was planned from the outset with a holistic focus on community, care, homes and sustainability. The village welcomed its first residents in January 2026.
Green Star Communities is an internationally recognised framework that assesses how developments support environmental performance, liveability and long-term community outcomes.
“Living in a healthy, supportive community is important at all stages of life,” says New Zealand Green Building Council CEO, Andrew Eagles. “Congratulations to Oceania Healthcare for developing the first Green Star Communities certified retirement village. This attention to health, lower costs and resilience is also shown in its targeting ratings for the homes and other buildings in Franklin Village.”
Living in people-focused, sustainably designed communities like these is increasingly sought after, says Eagles, with the surge in popularity of Green Star Community certification in Australia now seen in New Zealand.
At Franklin Village, Green Star Communities is reflected in both the design of the homes and the wider village.
Homes delivered to date are built to Homestar 7 standards, with high levels of insulation and ventilation to support warmer, drier and healthier living environments, along with improved energy performance – to deliver a 50% improvement in heating and cooling demand.
The village has also been designed to encourage connection and wellbeing, with shared spaces, walkable neighbourhood design and integrated care supporting residents to remain part of their community as their needs change.
For Oceania, the milestone – celebrated with residents today – reflects a broader shift in how retirement communities are conceived and delivered.
For Oceania, sustainability is not an add-on. Wright says, “This is part of how Oceania Healthcare thinks about creating premium-quality, comfortable homes and communities that genuinely support the people who live in them”.
Along with being the first private sector organisation to achieve Green Star Communities (v1.1), Franklin Village is the retirement village sector’s first to be certified for the build completed to date – and forms part of Oceania’s longer-term ambition to continue lifting the standard of sustainable village design across its portfolio. The 4 Star rating is considered ‘best practice’, with a 5 Star rating being ‘national excellence’, and 6 Star ‘world leadership’.
As development progresses, the company is targeting a 5 Star Green Star Communities rating for the completed village, and is seeking Homestar 7 certification for homes across the village.
Key features at Franklin Village include:
• Homes are targeting Homestar 7 (v5) standards, with high levels of insulation, airtight construction and heat recovery ventilation to support comfort all year round and warmer, drier and healthier living environments.
• A typical Stage 1 villa modelled to deliver more than a 50% improvement in heating and cooling demand compared with a reference Building Code-compliant dwelling.
• A wider development design that supports lower emissions through all-electric systems, efficient heating and cooling, solar panels on The Lodge, and lower-carbon materials.
• The Lodge at the heart of the village, with dining and lounge spaces, a resident bar, library, cinema, gym, pool, spa and wellness facilities. This has been awarded a 5 Star Green Star rating.
• A walkable village design, with landscaped areas, a resident workshop, communal gardens, village green and open spaces that encourage everyday connection.
• A site-wide stormwater management system designed to manage a 1-in-100-year storm event, with enhanced filtration and native planting to support biodiversity.
• Rainwater harvesting, smart water monitoring and efficient irrigation to reduce potable water use across the village.
For the full press release please click here.