Offsite manufactured housing delivering in Rotorua

The previously vacant two-hectare site on the corner of Ranolf Street and Malfroy Road in Rotorua was purchased in 2021 and is being developed for public housing in stages. The first phase comprises 37 three and four bedroom homes in total. Six are ready now, a further 19 will be completed by the end of the year, and the final 12 homes early next year.

The homes were built offsite in Huntly by Kāinga Ora build partner Builtsmart, who are one of the country’s largest suppliers of offsite manufactured (OSM) homes. Each home was trucked down in the early morning hours, with foundations and decks added afterwards along with fencing and landscaping.

Housing and Building and Construction Minister Hon Dr Megan Woods and MP Tāmati Coffey visit the Ranolf St development in Rotorua. Pictured with Sharlene Karena-Newman, Patrick Dougherty, Zaid Atiq and Darren Toy from Kāinga Ora

Once the whole development is finished, there will be an internal loop road and allocated off-street parking for each home, a community room and shared green space. The second phase on the corner section of the site is in the planning stage and is expected to include a further 20 multi-storey homes.

Darren Toy, Regional Director Bay of Plenty says the first six homes will be welcomed by Rotorua whānau currently living in emergency housing.

“These homes are ready now, and recognising the urgent housing need in Rotorua, we’ve prepared them for customers to move into immediately, while work continues on the rest of the site.

“We’re pleased to be part of the housing solution in Rotorua, and this is one of many Kāinga Ora developments either underway or in the pipeline here.

“We’ve seen another 11 permanent homes completed in the last month in the city, and 24 more are currently being built. All up we currently have over 300 Kāinga Ora homes under construction or being planned across Rotorua.”

Housing and Building and Construction Minister, Hon Dr Megan Woods, visited the new Ranolf Street and Malfroy Road site and supported the use of OSM to deliver more warm, dry homes for people in need.

Scaling up OSM builds

Patrick Dougherty, General Manager Construction and Innovation says Kāinga Ora is scaling up the use of OSM builds around the country.

“The adaptability of OSM means we can successfully tackle challenges such as speed and constraints on trade and materials. These homes are constructed by our build partners offsite at their facilities and shipped overnight to our sites. They are produced faster than a traditional build, while meeting all the same quality and sustainability thresholds including Healthy Homes standards and the New Zealand Green Building Council’s 6-Homestar ratings.”

Kāinga Ora doubled the number of homes delivered using OSM solutions between 2019 and 2021, and released Transforming construction through innovation: our offsite manufacturing plan last year.

New partnership with Rotorua’s Exeter Homes

More new OSM homes are coming to Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty soon thanks to a new contract with Rotorua business Exeter Homes. They will build 12 new Kāinga Ora homes offsite in their facility, seven of which are for Rotorua and five for Ōpōtiki. These will be delivered early next year.

A second order for around the same number of homes will be placed once other sites are confirmed in the wider Bay of Plenty region.

“It’s great to see a local business working to provide innovative housing solutions for local communities, and across the wider region,” says Darren Toy.