Christchurch affordable housing partnership announced   23 Oct 2014

Hon Dr Nick Smith

Minister for Building and Housing

23 October 2014 Media Statement
Christchurch affordable housing partnership announced

Fletcher Residential has been chosen as the Government’s private sector partner for a new affordable housing project on an 11.5-hectare Crown-owned site in Christchurch, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

“The Government's answer to Christchurch's housing challenge is increased supply, with a particular focus on new homes priced for those on modest incomes. This partnership with Fletcher Residential will deliver 237 new homes, of which 89 will be at a purchase price of less than $400,000. Fifty of these will involve shared equity ownership with the New Zealand Housing Foundation to assist families into home ownership who would otherwise be unable to achieve this goal,” Dr Smith says.

Dr Smith made today’s announcement at the Hornby site on the corner of Awatea and Carrs Roads with Fletcher’s head of residential development, Steve Evans, where they also released draft sketches of the development plans. The Government sought proposals in February for the former New Zealand Transport Agency site.

“Fletcher Residential was selected following the competitive procurement process because of its modern and comprehensive vision that includes community facilities and green spaces as well as innovative and sustainable housing design,” Dr Smith says.

“The unique aspect of this design is the mix of new homes that are more affordable than typical market offerings in Christchurch and will be available at a range of prices. The Fletcher proposal for the land gave the best value for money for the taxpayer.”

Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year, with the first homes expected to be completed in the first half of 2015. Approximately 10 homes are expected to be built per month over a two-year period, with the development fully complete by 2017.

“We are getting real momentum into the Christchurch residential rebuild. New home building consents are flowing at over 300 a month, or 3900 over the past year. This is double the rate of last year and three times the long-term historic average. New initiatives like this development are needed to maintain this growth and restore Christchurch’s housing stock as quickly as possible.

“This development comes on top of the four accommodation villages built at Kaiapoi, Rawhiti, Linwood and Rangers Park, the Canterbury Temporary Accommodation Service, the private sector partnerships for worker accommodation, the Repair 5000 programme and 700 New Build programme from Housing New Zealand, and the housing work on the Land Use Recovery Plan and the Central City Development Plan.

“This initiative with Fletcher’s is part of the recently signed Housing Accord with the Christchurch City Council. We are also progressing on selecting the development partner for the Christchurch Housing Accord developments in Colombo Street and Welles Street with proposals going to Cabinet next month.

"This Awatea project also dovetails with the Government's new HomeStart scheme, that from 1 April next year will provide grants of up to $20,000 for KiwiSavers buying their first home under a price cap in Christchurch of $450,000. This project is another important step in helping with the rebuild and delivering affordable housing that builds strong communities in Christchurch," Dr Smith concluded.

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1410/QA_AwateaCarrs_Roads_housing_project.pdf

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