KEY POINTS:
The Auckland City Council is looking to contribute about $10 million to an inner-city project to house the homeless by purchasing or leasing a new public open space on Hobson St.
The open space would be part of the Mission in the City project next to the historic church of St Matthew-in-the-City.
In May last year, the Auckland City Mission unveiled an audacious plan to house 80 of the 250 to 400 inner-city homeless in a 170-unit apartment development surrounding a new square next to the church.
Leading architects Nicholas Stevens and Gary Lawson andcollaborator Rewi Thompson won a competition to design a "concept" for the 4300 sq m site between Hobson and Federal Sts, proposing four adjoining buildings of up to 12 storeys.
The project also includes new facilities for the City Mission, flats for single parents attending tertiary education in the city, 20 flats for clients of a drug and alcohol detox facility, community hall, daycare centre for 50 children and a five-level underground carpark.
The only catch is the price - $70 million.
The underground carparking is expected to cover a third of the cost with the rest coming from Housing New Zealand, the ASB Community Trust, Auckland City Council and corporate donors. Auckland City said its involvement would be limited to consideration of the open space. Community services committee chairman Paul Goldsmith said a well-designed open space could become a nice asset in an area of the city that was now a concrete jungle.
Mr Goldsmith said the potential purchase or lease of the land for open space was subject to a number of conditions, including confirmed funding for the rest of the project, and that it would be fully open to the street and a safe environment.
No budget has been set for the open space, although the site would cost about $10 million based on land values in Hobson St last year.
The council has committed up to $100,000 to establish if the open space can be provided to meet the council's conditions.
City Missioner Diane Robertson said the the project brought together a number of partners, including the City Mission, St Matthew's, the council, Housing New Zealand and corporates, to create a great urban design.
She said plans should be completed and ready to be lodged for resource consent by the end of the year.
That was when the major fund-raising would begin.
The goal was to complete the project by mid-2012.
"It's a massive project. There are so many partnerships and so many different owners and stakeholders."
