Vision of tiny homes for elderly takes big step towards reality
Age Concern Rotorua’s long, winding road to creating a pocket-sized neighbourhood for elderly in need is finally starting to come to fruition, after the purchase of a section of land in Ngongotaha¯.
The organisation wants to create a mini-neighbourhood for elderly people in need that consists of tiny homes clustered around a common green space.
Age Concern Rotorua manager Rory O’rourke said the section of about 511sq m was on Paraone St and was dead flat, sitting about 50m from the lake and a similar distance from a bus stop.
Three tiny homes would be put on the section at this stage, but Age Concern Rotorua would be seeking resource consent for a fourth.
He said the previous owner of the section was not able to build the size of house they wanted and with increasing building costs it became out of their reach, so they decided to sell.
“We happened to be in the right place at the right time. It never went to market, we bought it privately because the person knew we were looking for some land, and it was a reasonable price as well.”
O’rourke said the water, power and sewerage were ready to go, and the Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust had been generous in supporting the project.
“The trust is right behind the project and with the money, we have been able to hire Sigma Consultants to do all of our architectural engineering, planning work and presenting plans to council for consents.”
He said the process was in the early stages: “I have met with the architect from Sigma Consultants last Tuesday onsite to discuss what is needed, and they will let me know when they think it is appropriate
to secure the buildings.
“Once that gets under way it will take three months to build.”
It had been a long search of more than a year to secure land.
“It is very exciting this is finally coming to some fruition.”
He said Age Concern Rotorua had been fortunate enough to own its premises in Eruera St, and when it moved to near Parksyde it sold those premises and decided to use the proceeds to help vulnerable
elderly people by providing affordable housing.
When it came to selecting the seniors who would be going into the tiny homes, O’rourke said there would be a range of criteria.
This included that prospective occupants be members of Age Concern, not own a home and that they were paying market rent or living with a relative. People would be able to express interest, Age Concern would interview them, and those who were thought suitable would go into a draw.
The occupants of the tiny homes would pay rent of about $100 per week, with Age Concern Rotorua as the landlord. O’rourke said they would likely get a rental company to oversee it with them.
There were plans to include some raised gardens and to create a communal area in the middle where gatherings such as barbecues could be held.
“We haven’t advertised it yet, but even now six or seven people have expressed interest, so I anticipate there will be quite a few.
“It’s a start and something that we feel is important. At this stage elderly housing is not going to get any better,” O’rourke said.
“The fact we are doing this may encourage other Age Concerns around the country to do it too, so that’s why we are doing it properly — going through consultation and working with the council through the process.”
Rotorua Lakes council deputy chief executive district development, Jean-paul Gaston, said given Rotorua’s critical housing shortage they welcomed the news Age Concern had found a site and was looking to progress with its plans.
“Rotorua urgently needs more homes of all types, including smaller homes.
“Requirements for any development depend on a range of factors that are specific to a site and to what is planned for that site, and we look forward to assisting Age Concern and/or their agents to work through what may be required for this particular development.”
O’rourke said other exciting news was that the Lottery Grants Board had given $40,000 to Age Concern Rotorua for a one-year project which would see staff visit all of its members and write a report about their physical and mental wellbeing.
He said a lot of members weren’t coming out of their homes as much after the emergence of Covid and lockdowns, so Age Concern wanted to find out how they were faring.
“For example, we had a trip this week to the Crossing in Tauranga and we only had four of our members sign up, where normally there would be a minibus-load.”
"It is very exciting this is finally coming to some fruition."
Age Concern Rotorua manager Rory O’rourke