Government approves funding for around 300 new public homes in transformational urban regeneration project

The announcement today confirms $296 million of the government’s public housing funding is supporting the delivery of the Arlington Development in Mt Cook, Wellington.

“This is a significant milestone for the construction of around 300 new homes for public housing, plus shared amenities such as a playground, community gardens and rooms, offices, and orchards in the heart of central Wellington,” said Minister Woods at the announcement.

“This is what new 21st Century public housing looks like: warm, dry homes in developments that are designed to create and nurture communities, while connecting them with their immediate environment.”

The 17,700m2 site will consist of 16 buildings, ranging from town houses through to six-storey light-engineered timber apartment blocks.

“This is our largest single site Kāinga Ora development announced to date” says Kāinga Ora General Manager, Construction and Innovation, Patrick Dougherty. “It will provide much needed housing for more than 900 families and individuals, as well as creating a sense of community through cultural and smart design.”

Built to Homestar6 home standards architectural lead Designgroup Stapleton Elliott have woven cultural narratives developed by local iwi alongside regeneration and urban design to help provide a place for local residents to call their own.

“This site and area have a rich history of social housing and a strong sense of community. This new development allows for shared amenities from orchards and gardens through to the community centre and public park at the heart of the development to help residents build a sense of belonging, pride and connection with their homes and wider community,”  said Minister Woods.

“To deliver more much needed homes, we also need to increase the density. Arlington is a great example of how increased density can be achieved thoughtfully by building a variety of different levels and styles to work with the current landscape and surrounds” says Patrick Dougherty.

From left – Patrick Dougherty (Kāinga Ora General Manager, Construction and Innovation), Dr Minister Woods and Mayor Foster

On the day, the Minister was joined by Wellington City Council elected officials Mayor Foster, Councillor Pannett, Councillor Day and Councillor Fitzsimons. The Arlington site, previously known as the George Porter Towers or Arlington site 1 and 3, had housed 212 Wellington City Council apartments. Over time, these apartments were no longer a fit for purpose housing option.

To help ensure more housing could be built in Wellington City, Kāinga Ora entered into an agreement with Wellington City Council in 2019 to lease, develop and maintain the site for 125 years. All of the homes will be public housing to help address the increasing demand in the region.

The proposal is a significant investment in the construction sector and local economy, which will lead to a number of employment opportunities and training opportunities across a number of years. This investment will also provide important economic stimulus to the local and national economy.

The Arlington development has a strong focus on supporting social outcomes within Wellington, with up to 7.5% of construction funding being allocated to priority businesses, including Māori and Pacific led local businesses or social enterprises.

“Employment and training opportunities have also been created for 40 apprentices and four new graduates with at least 50% of these roles being assigned to individuals who identify as Māori, Pacific and women or Kāinga ora customers” says Patrick Dougherty.

The use of light-engineered timber will also see significant reduction in carbon emissions and enables the use off-site manufacturing (OSM) for portions of the build.

“The adaptability of OSM means this build method tackles some of the major challenges facing the residential construction sector, such as reducing construction time, cost, sustainability, health and safety, and skills and materials shortages” says Minister Woods.

Construction of the first set of 16 blocks is scheduled to start later this year and completion of the homes will be staged between 2023 and 2025.

Read the Minister’s full announcement(external link)

Group photo of Ministers’, Councillors, staff and officials from Kāinga Ora, Wellington City Council, McKee Fehl and Designgroup Stapleton Elliott