It takes a Community to design a village and Joe Bartley’s job as a Senior Development Manager for Metlifecare allows him to combine his passion for engaging with local communities with designing and building beautiful homes for senior New Zealanders.
After speaking to Joe Bartley for just a few minutes, it quickly becomes apparent how important local communities are to him, and in particular, the people within them.
“I grew up in a Samoan family where we were taught to always be humble and treat others with respect, especially those older than you. I try and bring some of those values I was taught into property development, even more so in the aged care space,” said Joe.
Joe is a Senior Development Manager at Metlifecare, which sees him in the perfect role – developing carefully crafted communities for New Zealand’s retirees.
Most of Joe’s role is at the front end of the development process, helping Metlifecare identify and acquire new land opportunities, and managing the development process from the masterplan stage to resource consent, through to the start of construction.
He also supports the sales and marketing, finance and delivery teams, who subsequently bring the villages to life.
“Managing a retirement village development forces you to think at a human level, and really challenge the design team, whether its landscape architects, architects, traffic or civil engineers, to produce something that’s attractive, accessible, and residents will actually use and enjoy.
“I love watching the built environment come to life and seeing how these new spaces will impact those who choose to live there.”
Metlifecare takes a unique approach to create its bespoke villages and amenities, ensuring each village fits perfectly into the local environment and community.
An essential part of getting this right is engaging with the community from the very start.
Following Metlifecare’s new site acquisitions in Beachlands, and more recently, Clevedon, Joe’s development team quickly engaged with both East Auckland communities.
“In Beachlands we did a lot of community engagement upfront. There were no retirement options in the area, so we wanted to really understand who the customer was, and secondly, we had a strong interest as soon as we went public, so we wanted to talk through the plans.
“We engaged extensively with Ōtau/Clevedon for similar reasons, partly because we’re next to the town centre and there’s a lot of business owners that are interested in what we’re doing, and equally, we’re interested in what services they can provide moving forward.
“You learn a lot through consultation so it’s an essential part of the design process. You might get some resistance, so it’s ensuring we are genuine in our engagement. We may agree to some things and push back on others. It’s the nature of the design process.”
Joe explains that while iwi consultation is slightly different – as you’re engaging in matters that impact the whenua in the area – it is equally important.
“At Beachlands, we proposed stream reclamations, so we engaged with Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki early on. Through the visits, they talked to us about the Māori history of the area and the importance of regeneration of the foreshore surrounding Pine Harbour. They ended up being our support network when engaging with Council on these matters.
“In Ōtau/Clevedon we’re next to the Wairoa River which we know has cultural significance to iwi. And it’s important to respect that. So for us, it was about sitting down with Ngāi Tai ki Tamaki to talk about what we’re doing, and how we can integrate the natural features of the Wairoa River, without undermining any of the spiritual or cultural values.
Joe said all consultations are different.
“It’s never going to be perfect. There’s no one size fits all and being a development manager, you need to be able to read that – when to consult, when to engage, and when not to over-consult, or it can be death by a thousand cuts!”
Joe completed a Bachelor of Planning from Auckland University in 2003 and his background was in urban planning before he transitioned into development.
“I was always handy with a pencil and, even at a young age, the urban environment was always intriguing to me.
“I got into town planning because I didn’t really know what other disciplines or career choices were available to me at the time. All I wanted to do was play rugby! But I really liked it.
“With urban planning, I was always involved in bringing together residential, commercial and open space land uses into a single plan, but at a larger, suburban or neighbourhood wide level. So, it’s cool to now be involved in that sort of design process where you’re providing a little bit of everything, but in a small space.”
Asked what the biggest myth is about working in the aged care sector, Joe said it’s the traditional “gated community mentality” that some people think exist.
“Some of the residents I have talked to are as progressive in their design thinking as some of the younger architects and designers that work on these projects, which is awesome!”
“One thing I have learnt at Metlifecare is that residents appreciate quality, they appreciate living in villages that are well thought out and integrate into the wider neighbourhood. Which isn’t really surprising given the investment many of them make when choosing to move into a village.”
According to Joe, being a good listener, and working together as a team, are among many essential skills to ensure development success.
“Being able to listen is an important quality. It also shows humility. As development managers, we’re in a privileged position where we get to work through the design, development and delivery of a project. Part of ensuring we get it right is being able to listen to important stakeholders and ensure their voices are being heard or considered through the process.
“Teamwork is incredibly important with retirement village development as there are so many moving parts. There’s the clinical side, the operational side, the commercial offering and independent living options. These have to come together in a cohesive way so that the product being delivered meets the needs of the customer.”
Joe also believes there are positive elements in retirement village living that overlap with the Samoan way of living, especially how they “function and feel.”
“From a design perspective, I’ve always thought there are synergies in the design of retirement villages, and what that could offer in future planning or development in places like Samoa where it’s natural that everyone looks after each other. The notion of “it takes a village to raise a child” is very true in the islands.
“I hope one day I can apply the skills and lessons I’ve learned to provide similar quality villages where my parents are from,” said Joe. “That would be awesome.”
