A concept image of the development. Photo / Supplied
Kāinga Ora will begin construction of a 37-home development near Rotorua's central city in February – by truck.
The development, announced in August, will be built on a 2 hectare parcel of land on the corner of Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says while the development is "a start" there is still a long way to go to address Rotorua's housing needs.
Kāinga Ora purchased the land, which had been vacant for 30 years, for $6.45 million in June.
Construction of 37 one and two-storey dwellings will begin in February, is expected to finish mid-2022, with priority given to people with the highest priority on the housing register waiting list.
In a pamphlet distributed by Kāinga Ora, it said the homes would be built through the use of off-site manufacturing, in an effort to speed up construction.
"This means these homes will be built offsite in a factory, and then transported to the site and installed and connected to services.
"The homes will be delivered by truck overnight in stages, starting from February 2022."
They would be made of weatherboard-style cladding, have steel roofing and would be in "a range of mixed earth-tone colours".
The homes would be a mix of two, three and four bedrooms, be fully insulated with double glazing, a deck and an easy to maintain and fenced private section with a garden.
"Kāinga Ora will match homes to people and families on the Housing Register. These would be their long-term homes, with priority given to those in greatest need of a home, and considering location due to work, whānau, education and other factors."
All homes would have allocated off-street parking with an internal loop road providing access from both Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd, and each would have a deck and low-maintenance fenced private section with a garden.
A community room and shared green space was also part of the development which would be landscaped with shrubs, hedges and native and fruit trees.
A section of the land was not included in the plans with options for higher density housing on the north-eastern corner.
Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty regional director Darren Toy said work would begin on the site late this year, subject to consents.
He said four people had provided feedback to Kāinga Ora in August. They had wanted to know who would live in the homes and what support Kāinga Ora would provide.
"Our aim is to create homes for people as part of an inclusive, thriving and well-connected wider community.
"These homes, on this well-located and large site, will help start to meet the urgent need for homes for people in Rotorua, alongside other redevelopments under way or planned at existing Kāinga Ora sites spread across the city, and other housing opportunities being explored."
He said Kāinga Ora intended to include access to social and whānau services for its customers, but hadn't decided what services they would be or who would provide them and would be seeking input from customers.
Toy said a Zoom information session tomorrow would include an overview of the development, including renders, plans and timelines, and answer any queries.
Chadwick said adding 37 homes to the housing supply in Rotorua was a start.
"But we certainly have a long way to go to begin to resolve the housing crisis this city is facing."
According to the Ministry of Social Development, there were 690 people on the housing register in Rotorua, at the end of March and 741 at the end of June.
"By adding more public housing to the system, it means more people move off that register, out of motels and into permanent homes," Chadwick said.
"While short-term arrangements are in place with motels, increasing housing stock of all types is where we need to focus our efforts, and [the] council along with the Government and Te Arawa are continuing to work together to reach that goal."
A council spokeswoman said it had received a resource consent application for the residential development and subdivision, which was being processed.
Under the Public Housing Plan, Kāinga Ora is working to deliver about 190 extra public houses in Rotorua by 2024.
A previous up-market development planned for the site, Ashworth Villas, was to have 50 lots, but the developer, Holmes Group, walked away from it after costs escalated in a two-year battle to get resource consent, which it eventually got.
Formerly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, plans to build a church on the site never eventuated and the Voyager Resort Hotel occupied the site between 1983 and 1988, and it has remained empty since, despite changing hands many times.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay was approached for comment.
* An online community session about the development will be held on Wednesday, 5.30pm-6.30pm. To join the online session, or to ask questions or sign up to an update database, contact Kāinga Ora stakeholder relationship manager Troy Brown: 0800 801 601 and ask to be transferred or 021 579 965. Email: bayofplenty@kaingaora.govt.nz
Jefferies and family will enjoy a leg of lamb with summer sides.