Property owners build for the disabled
A Southland couple is building two housing units in Invercargill that are designed for people in wheelchairs.
Andrew Watkins and his partner, Adele McMahon, bought an Elles Rd property two years ago.
After talking to people in the neighbourhood and learning that housing for the disabled was hard to come by, they decided to rip down the house on the section and build two two-bedroom units solely designed for people in wheelchairs to live in.
McMahon is project-managing the construction, and is helping the builder with the work.
The design allows for wheelchair users to manoeuvre around beds, while a single garage allows wheelchair access from a vehicle. The bathrooms and vanity units are specially designed and the doors and hallways will be widened.
Occupants will be able to lower or lift the kitchen bench to suit, and the window latches and light switches will be at accessible heights.
The units would cost about $250,000 each to build, Watkins said.
‘‘It’s costing more to build them that way, but in the long term it will help people [in wheelchairs] out.’’
Watkins said they did not know any disabled people when they began the project but soon learnt there was a shortage of such housing.
The project is still several months from completion and they intend to rent out the units.
Tracy Peters, an Invercargill woman who uses a wheelchair, said she did not know of any other houses in Invercargill that had been designed specifically for wheelchair users and put up for rent by private owners.
She lived in a rental property that had a ramp installed, but many other aspects of the house made life difficult. This included kitchen benches that were too high. ‘‘I love to cook so it’s really difficult.’’
She had been looking for an accessible house to rent in Invercargill for the past six years, without luck.
Geoff Penrose, the general manager of Lifemark, which is a division of CCS Disability Action, said less than 2 per cent of homes had features geared for the disabled. ‘‘There should be good demand, I would think.’’