Elder Housing
Katikati elder housing redevelopment
Affordable housing for older people is a key area of concern in our District - need is increasing, and supply is very limited. At the moment Katikati’s housing stock of mostly three and four bedroom homes, doesn’t fit the needs of our older population who typically want to downsize.
Providing affordable housing especially for older people often means they can stay in their local community, and continue to contribute to the strong social networks and proactive community that makes Katikati so special.
So what are we doing?
We're redeveloping the elder housing units on Heron Crescent. The finished product will see the existing 11 units replaced with a set of new modern units, with final designs to be decided by your elected members.
The project is the second elder housing development in Katikati, with tenants moving into the seven new units built at Beach Road earlier this year.
The majority of funding for the Heron Crescent project comes from $5.34m of the Government’s ‘Better Off’ funding allocated via the Three Waters Reform Package, approved in late 2022.
The move to support our elder community by retaining and redeveloping our elder housing was backed by the community (88 percent in support) through the Long Term Plan 2021-31 (page 17)
What's the latest?
Council has endorsed initial plans to develop a total of 26 units at Heron Crescent. Watch the Council meeting livestream.
Fully accessible and custom designed for people aged 65 years and over, the plans include three two-storey blocks of units with different layouts to suit older single people and couples.
The tentative 26 unit development will see 15 additional units, in addition to replacing the 11 existing 40 year-old units that were recently removed.
This early stamp of approval from Council is an important step towards the final design and gives the Council team the green light to press on with existing funding applications and a resource consent application. Councillors will have the final say on the contract for the build, to be signed off prior to work beginning in February 2024 at the earliest.
The initial concept design includes
- a block of 10 units, two-storey, five units on each floor,
- a block of 12 units, two-storey, six units each floor, and
- a block of four, two-storey two-bedroom townhouses.
The best case scenario is successful funding in the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development’s (MHUD) Affordable Housing Fund, allowing us to build all 26 units.
Or a scaled back version if this funding isn’t successful, would see a proposed 17-unit design based on $4.6million from the Government’s ‘Better Off’ already dedicated to the build.
However, the final call can’t be made until the Affordable Housing Fund is announced in September. That said, all options ensure that costs are not passed to ratepayers.
What's happening on the ground?
We're making good progress on initial earthworks so that we can see elder housing tenants settled in the new units as soon as possible. This includes, removing existing units, building a new retaining wall between the site and Diggelmann Park, remedying drainage issues and building preparation.
The Council team will also be engaging directly with our elder housing tenants to get their input into the detailed design.
Media releases
