280 homes planned for site

Up to 280 new homes are being planned for one of Wellington’s significant transit routes near the central city.

Kāinga Ora has bought a site for the development on Adelaide Rd, 150 metres south of the Basin Reserve, for $10 million. It’s a car park and was once home to a petrol station but it’s also on one of the key bus routes for the city.

‘‘Wellington, in particular, is a difficult place to buy a first home and there is not a huge amount of land in the city that can be developed,’’ Housing Minister Megan Woods said today.

‘‘This purchase will make a big difference for a significant number of prospective home buyers and people on a tighter budget who don’t want to commute huge distances.’’

Kāinga Ora aimed to increase housing supply and affordability in Wellington in places with good access to public transport.

The strategic acquisition of the 2000m2 section was part of its urban development programme in areas ‘‘where the market alone struggles to deliver the quantity and type of housing we need to make housing more affordable,’’ Woods said.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau was supportive of the plan to bring high density affordable housing to the area.

‘‘It’s very much in line with our housing priorities. That transit route there is exactly where we want to be developing more housing.’’

The site aligned with several Wellington City programmes including the region’s proposed ‘Let’s Get Wellington Moving’ public transport corridor as well as the Green Network Plan, and the city’s wastewater renewals and upgrades programme.

Whanau said the development may cause some disruption in a busy area, but they would work to accommodate the increased number of residents.

‘‘Our city planners will take all of that into consideration, but the reality is, we need this discomfort to create more affordable housing.’’

Kāinga Ora estimated the site at 28 Adelaide Rd could accommodate 280 homes.