More public housing is on the way for Palmerston North, with Housing Minister, Megan Woods announcing 120 new homes will be built in the city by June 2024.
This is in addition to nearly 80 public housing homes delivered since the start of 2020, including the recent completion of five homes in Raleigh Street in time for families to move into before Christmas.
“We have been rebuilding public housing following years of decline with many houses being sold, and very few being built. Since we came into Government we have delivered an extra 8,608 public housing homes, with 6,811 being new builds. An extra 2,938 Transitional homes have also been added in this time,” Dr Woods said.
“Our Government believes everyone deserves a warm, dry home whether they own or rent. All new Kāinga Ora homes have Homestar 6 ratings so have high insulation and environmental standards.”
The upcoming developments include 50 homes for Rugby Street, 60 for Church Street and 14 for Wharenui Street. Kāinga Ora is in the planning and design phase for these sites and is engaging with the communities to get local feedback on these developments.
“The Rugby Street development is a great example of better using existing land to deliver more housing, with at least 50 new homes replacing the current nine homes on the site. They will be a mix of one-five bedroom family homes and an onsite community centre to service both tenants and the surrounding community,” the Minister said.
Construction is expected to start mid/late 2022 after community engagement has been held.
“Kāinga Ora has also bought a city centre site on Cuba Street and is in the early stages of exploring how it can be developed for medium density public housing,” she said.
The Cuba Street site was bought last month for $1.8 million.
Across the country, Kāinga Ora is working closely the Councils and iwi around infrastructure and site-specific requirements for the construction of these homes, and is drawing on the considerable expertise and experience they have in developing land for public housing, the Minister said.
“All of this work is great news for the city, which is one of eight areas of focus under the Government’s Public Housing Plan due its significant housing need,” she said.
