‘Time is of the essence’: Proposal for 30 new homes in Te Anau
The Fiordland Business Association may have found a solution to Te Anau’s housing crisis... if it can get buy-in from the community.
The association hosted two community meetings on Friday to present its proposed housing plan developed in partnership with Genius Homes, with a local charitable trust offering the land.
The proposal could see up to 30 one, two and three-bedroom units erected on Alpine Drive.
A recent survey of businesses in the area revealed that more than half had one to five vacancies they couldn’t fill because there were no long term rentals available for workers.
A trustee of the land offered to the association met representatives of Genius Homes at Southern Field Days in February, and the plan was hatched.
“It’s been reasonably informal to this point,” Fiordland Business Association chair Nathan Benfell said.
A one-bedroom unit would cost $125,000, while a two-bedroom unit would cost $149,000. The idea was to make things as cost effective for investors and tenants as possible.
He hoped feedback from the community would allow the team to start working on a formal agreement and design within the next three weeks. “Time is of the essence.”
Urban planners had been working on a solution to Te Anau’s housing shortage, but Benfell said, “That’s not going to fix the problem for next summer”.
Being able to hire more workers would have myriad benefits for the town. For some business owners, it could mean keeping their doors open longer, offering more services or even being able to take a day off. More people
Being able to hire more workers would have myriad benefits for the town. For some business owners, it could mean keeping their doors open longer, offering more services or even being able to take a day off.
in the town would also mean more people spending in the area, he said.
“That flows onto the community. The biggest benefit is the difference to the health and wellbeing of staff.”
Benfell expected the project to have a life cycle of 10 years and said success would mean making the buildings redundant because a long-term solution had been found.