North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Community gets glimpse of future social housing
The ambition to create ‘‘warmer, drier homes’’ for the people of Auckland’s Northcote socialhousing community has been delivered, and then some.
The impressive-looking first house in a massive state-housing redevelopment project has just been completed in Northcote.
To celebrate the milestone, developer HLC, formerly Hobsonville Land Company, invited curious community members into the four-bedroom house for a gander, including pupils from nearby Onepoto Primary School.
The Northcote Development will replace 300 state houses with approximately 1200 new homes, a mix of social, affordable and market housing over the next six years.
Just over a year since the demolition of the first house on Tonar St, the first new home is on the street is expecting its first family in two weeks’ time.
The home that was open for viewing on November 2, as with all the homes in stage one of the development, is a social-housing replacement for the former state homes.
HLC aims to complete 59 new homes before Christmas and a further 34 homes by around April 2018.
HLC precinct director for Northcote Mark Fraser said his team was delighted the first homes are reaching completion and were ready for tenants a year out from starting work at the site.
‘‘Given how much planning has had to happen alongside the building of stage one, we’re pretty pleased with progress,’’ Fraser said.
Of the total 1200 homes, around 400 new Housing New Zealand homes are being built, an additional 100 homes over and
‘‘Given how much planning has had to happen alongside the building of stage one, we're pretty pleased with progress’’
Mark Fraser
above replacement of existing social housing. The remaining 800 homes will be for sale with a mix of market and affordable housing.
HLC, a subsidiary of Housing New Zealand, was announced as the developer in May 2016.
Stage one homes include one, two, three and four-bedroom homes.
Construction of the final stageone homes, 16 apartments, will commence in 2018.
Stage two of the development is due to start in March 2018.