Locals feared they looked like container homes when they first arrived, but today they had a chance to look through the finished product. Video / Kelly Makiha
Rotorua residents browsing controversial new Kāinga Ora apartments - originally described by some as being like “container homes” - say they are impressed with what they have seen, but remain concerned about who will move in.
Kāinga Ora held a community drop-in session yesterday for neighbours and those involved to take a glimpse of what the homes looked like inside.
Locals have seen the apartments slowly develop in the past nine months since the shells were dropped on to the site on the corner of Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd in April last year. Some locals at the time were shocked, saying they looked like shipping containers and were an “eyesore”.
The shells of the new Kāinga Ora apartments on the coroner of Malfroy Rd and Ranolf St. Photo / Andrew Warner
However, Kāinga Ora assured locals last year there was still a lot of building work to be done on the apartments.
The three blocks of four one-bedroom apartments are now finished. Those living in emergency housing motels or other temporary accommodation are being given priority to move in.
Each apartment has a balcony or patio and parking space and a small garden area. The apartments were blessed by Ngāti Whakaue yesterday morning before the drop-in session started.
Retired couple Don and Catherine Gray took the opportunity to look through after seeing the building working the past few months.
Don Gray said he was a former senior health officer for the then Rotorua District Council and building inspections were part of his job as a former qualified builder.
”I’ve been interested to see how it’s been built.”
After an initial scan of the apartment, Don Gray said he was impressed.
“There must be double glazing in the front window because you can’t hear the street.”
Catherine Gray was impressed with the carpets and thought they’d be easy to clean if there happened to be spills.
The kitchen and lounge area of one of the 12 new Kāinga Ora apartments on the corner of Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd. Photo / Kelly Makiha
She said she was just happy to see something being built on the land after decades of it being empty.
Julie Fraser-Beach and her daughter, Joy Fraser, were impressed looking through them.
Julie Fraser-Beach said they were a great improvement on the “state houses” of the “old days”.
Joy Fraser said she too liked the look of them inside but, given she lived nearby, she hoped the tenants would be carefully selected and would look after them.
A Rotorua couple who owned a home nearby, who didn’t want their names published in case they offended someone, said their initial reaction to the development was “oh ****”.
“It’s not the homes, it’s who is living in them,” the man said.
The woman said no one wanted drama in their neighbourhood.
“We want to be here for a long time, not a short time.”
Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty housing and wellbeing support manager Teresa Pou outside one of the completed apartment blocks on the corner of Malfroy Rd and Ranolf St. Photo / Kelly Makiha
Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty housing and wellbeing support manager Teresa Pou said Fire and Emergency NZ came to check the complex’s internal alarm system.
She said Fire and Emergency would return once tenants moved in to ensure they knew how it operated and had a good evacuation plan.
About the new apartments and tenants
The units were manufactured offsite and transported to the site in April last year. Offsite manufactured components such as stairs, balconies, roof covering and screens were installed and on-site drainage, service connections, flashings installation and landscaping were then finished in the months ending last year.
Kāinga Ora Bay of Plenty regional director Darren Toy said new tenants would begin to move in in February.
He said they were working on identifying suitable applicants from the Ministry of Social Development housing register who were living in emergency, transitional and other temporary housing.
The lounge area of one of the new Kāinga Ora apartments on the corner of Malfroy Rd and Ranolf St. Photo / Kelly Makiha
When asked if the apartments would be offered first to those specifically living in Rotorua emergency housing and other temporary accommodation, Toy said: “Our placements are based on need. We anticipate that most of the people who will live in these homes will be from or have connections to Rotorua.”
He said Kāinga Ora connected people with the support they might need.
Toy said the 12 new homes boosted single-bedroom home offerings in Rotorua.
Toy said there were now 845 state houses in Rotorua but only 39 of them were one-bedroom. There were 729 two and three-bedroom homes.
“Most of the almost 250 Kāinga Ora new houses completed over the last three years in Rotorua have housed small and large whānau, so it’s good to have these one-bedroom units for those on their own or couples.”
Toy said he hoped people could see the value in the finished project.
“I know some in the community were surprised by the look of these off-site built apartments when they first arrived on site, but now they’re finished people can see their stylish transformation and how well they will suit those who will be moving in over the coming weeks.”
Where Kāinga Ora’s Rotorua build programme is at
In the year to December 2024, 104 new houses were delivered by Kāinga Ora and in the three years to December 2024 nearly 250 homes were delivered.
The latest projections show 324 new social houses were planned to be delivered in Rotorua - a majority of them (229 houses) to be delivered by the end of 2025 and 95 of them in 2026.
There are 41 developments under construction or contracted in Rotorua and three more are approved or progressing to contract.
But after the Government’s Kāinga Ora review announcement last year, there are now 10 proposed Rotorua projects totalling 64 houses “under assessment”.
Toy said this meant costs and plans for these developments were under review to ensure value for money and to consider if there were other better options for using the sites.
Toy said among the projects on hold was the planned three-storey apartment blocks for 24 apartments on the corner of Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd, which was to be the final stage of the housing development.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
