Kāinga Ora development of 44 new homes opens in city
Their new homes might be built on a very busy road but tenants at Kāinga Ora’s newest housing development in central New Plymouth won’t be bothered by traffic noise.
The development in central New Plymouth, at the corner of Leach and Cameron streets, was officially opened yesterday.
The biggest public housing development seen in Taranaki for more than 30 years has 23 two-bedroom units, 21 one-bedroom units and a community space.
Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities bought the new homes from Aucklandbased developer, Soho Group, which bought the land in 2020 for $3.5 million.
Ben Noone, head of project delivery at Soho Group, said being close to the main road presented some challenges. “We’ve made the building in a way so the units are breathable, warm and dry without the windows being open, because it’s got passive ventilation. So, acoustically, tenants don’t get disturbed by any of the traffic.”
The 15 ground-floor units are designed with mobility and functionality in mind, Noone said. “Such as contrasting colours for vision-impaired people to actually to be able to more easily navigate around the space. There’s level entry spaces for people with mobility constraints, bathrooms have grab rails and seats for people to be able to shower in a more accessible way.”
People will begin moving into the apartments next week.
Kāinga Ora regional director Taranaki/whanganui/manawatu Graeme Broderick said a small number of the new tenants will be transferring from existing homes, where the homes are underutilised, so those houses can be used for large families.
“But the majority will be coming directly off the Ministry of Social Development housing register. They would have been in emergency accommodation or bunking down with friends and family.”
As at March 2024, there were 417 people on the public housing register in New Plymouth, up from 120 in 2019.
The new development only has 18 car parks, but Broderick said a “good number” of the tenants don’t have cars.
“They rely on public transport or bikes or scooters, so we’re very comfortable about the number of car parks. There’s free parking out on the street as well. And it’s so close to the CDB.”
In the past some residents who lived near the complex were worried about the impact of public housing on the value of their properties, in an area where many houses are priced above $1m.
Neighbours spoken to at the opening all said that they weren’t keen on having the development there, but “time would tell”. A couple of neighbours said it would depend on the tenants.
But they all agreed the units were very nice and the complex “looked impressive.”
The development contains a community space that will be for tenants and neighbours, and will be managed by the Taranaki YMCA.
Taranaki YMCA chief executive Joanne Dusterhoft said the shared community space would be used for various activities and programmes to foster community engagement between Kāinga Ora customers and the inner-city community.
The development was expected to be finished by the middle of 2023. But adverse weather and unforeseen ground conditions were cited as reasons for the development falling nearly one year behind schedule.