Hastings District Council is calling for Expressions of Interest from suitable developers to bring much-needed homes to the market on three blocks of council-owned land in Flaxmere.
As part of its response to the current housing shortage, and with the assistance of government funding, Council identified four areas of council-owned land to be developed for housing in Flaxmere: Tarbet St, 244 Flaxmere Ave, a section of council-owned land in the Flaxmere Town Centre and 72 Caernarvon Drive.
At Tarbet St, within the last year Council has built the roading and infrastructure – with 17 sections now sold or under contract, and construction of 18 public houses underway.
For the other three sites, the design and delivery of three-water services, roads, footpaths and amenity spaces are being designed, with this work expected to be completed at Flaxmere Ave in May next year, and the town centre and Caernarvon Drive by the end of 2022.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said these developments comprised part of the Hastings Place Based housing plan and the subsequent medium to long-term housing strategy, aimed at enabling quality, stable, healthy and affordable houses to be built.
“We know there’s a huge need out there and these developments are part of the collaborative solution we are working on with our Hastings Place Based partners,” Mayor Hazlehurst said.
“What is important to us with this housing is that it is good quality, designed well, stands the test of time, and is accessible to a wide range of prospective buyers.”
Throughout the planning for these developments, council had kept up regular engagements with a working group of members of the community, and this would continue throughout the process, she said.
The developments will be a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom homes that followed best practice design principles, were sustainable, had private outdoor living spaces, appropriate garaging and were energy efficient.
Other considerations were that first-home buyers had access to progressive home ownership schemes and there would be requirements for the properties to be owned and occupied by the new owners for no less than five years.
This week, Council put out the call for developers with the necessary track record, experience, capability and capacity to submit formal proposals to build the houses. The Expression of Interest is phase 1 of a two-phase process, with detailed proposals being called from shortlisted developers over the coming months.
In deciding on who would carry out the work, Council says emphasis would be placed on selecting candidates who committed to working in partnership with Council to meet objectives around quality and sustainability, as well as supporting local upskilling and employment.
This contract opportunity was advertised on the open market via the NZ Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) today and Expressions of Interest close on August 11.
