John Tubberty, Kainga Ora's regional director for central and east Auckland (left), Jane Jujnovich, project director for Te Mātāwai (centre) and Tom Irvine, from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, in the foyer of the new Kainga Ora housing complex on Grey's Ave in central Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
John Tubberty, Kainga Ora's regional director for central and east Auckland (left), Jane Jujnovich, project director for Te Mātāwai (centre) and Tom Irvine, from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, in the foyer of the new Kainga Ora housing complex on Grey's Ave in central Auckland. Photo / Michael Craig
There’s a taniwha peering into the foyer above the doors at Te Mātāwai, the big new Kāinga Ora housing complex that officially opens tomorrow on Greys Ave, just up from Aotea Square. The image is etched into the glass and there was some talk of having it wrap right aroundthe building.
In the end, says Tom Irvine from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, who have been involved in the project throughout, that seemed a bit much.
The taniwha references the nearby Waihorotiu stream, which runs underground from a spring near the top of Myers Park, all the way down beneath Queen St to the sea. Te Mātāwai means “the place of emerging waters” and it’s that water which sustains the mauri, or life force, of the place.
The taniwha at Te Mātāwai. Photo / Michael Craig
It’s also a physical presence, because when it rains, excess water can pour down Greys Ave. So Te Mātāwai features a large planted channel running down behind the complex: the garden doubles as a flood watercourse.
A taniwha, a watercourse and 276 homes all in one place: Te Mātāwai is a full-sized papakāinga - a village - in the middle of the city.
Two hundred of the homes are “supported housing” for people on the housing register. Residents in them will have round-the-clock access to a range of services, including a concierge and security, a dining room, recreation and event areas, a computer room, a large bike lock-up and some health support.
They also have access to the full wraparound healthcare services available at the nearby HomeGround, the recently-opened home of the Auckland City Mission. The two complexes between them represent a significant step forward in caring for the needs of Auckland’s homeless.
Some of the residents at Te Mātāwai will have “high needs” but, says project director Jane Jujnovich, “there shouldn’t be anyone who’s too hard for us to have live here”.
Te Mātāwai is made up of three buildings, connected by common areas. One of the buildings has been there 70 years, although it is now completely refurbished.
“It was a bit grim,” says John Tubberty, Kāinga Ora’s regional director for central and east Auckand. “There were multiple entry points and the residents were preyed on.”
Te Mātāwai on Grey's Ave, where Kāinga Ora has built 276 new homes for people on the housing register and others. Photo / Michael Craig
The new design attempts to eliminate that risk, with all comings and goings channelled through the central foyer, which is staffed 24/7.
About half the units they contain are one-bedroom dwellings, with studios comprising another third and the rest being 1.5-bedroom and two-bedroom homes.
This is Kāinga Ora’s largest urban residential complex and the first time the agency has offered “supported housing” on a single site.
All the units are built to HomeStar 7 standard, which provides a higher level of warmth and energy efficiency than required by the Building Code.
About 60 per cent of the units are “accessible or universally designed”. They have level access throughout, wide doorways and showers and, in some cases, adjustable benchtop heights, side opening ovens and low shelving.
A bedroom in a unit at Te Mātāwai offered for public rental. Photo / Michael Craig
“Te Mātāwai is an exciting central Auckland housing development where people from different cultures and backgrounds will live side by side,” says Tubberty.
“It’s also a place where a number of people who require a higher level of support to be able to live well can get a warm, dry and safe place to call home, and access to support, when they need it, to improve their wellbeing.”
The 76 units not available for tenants from the housing register are being offered as rentals on the open market. Tenants in these apartments will have full access to the services of the complex.
These open-market rentals are part of a trial that Kāinga Ora, with Cabinet support, hopes will “help create a more diverse and mixed community, which plays an important part in achieving positive outcomes for everyone”.
There's a lot of art in Te Mātāwai. Photo / Michael Craig
About 30 of the private rentals will initially be used to house people impacted by the storms earlier this year.
At ground level, Te Mātāwai has spaces set up for retail, including a mini-mart, and there will be services offering help with transition to work, transport and other such support.
And there’s a lot of art around, hanging on the walls and carved into them, much of it courtesy of Ngāti Whātua.
“There’s a vibrancy,” says Irvine. “I like to think it helps create a sense of home.”
Simon Wilson is an award-winning senior writer covering politics, the climate crisis, transport, housing, urban design and social issues, with a focus on Auckland. He joined the Herald in 2018.
