Housing trust gets finance to buy apartment block

The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust has secured funding to buy 50 units in a planned development at Remarkables Park. Photo/New Ground Capital.

The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust can buy 50 apartments in Frankton, after securing funding from Westpac bank.

As reported in the Otago Daily Times last week, the not-for-profit social enterprise lost the chance to secure financial backing from an overseas investor due to proposed changes to the Overseas Investment Act.

It is buying the units from New Ground Capital (NGC), which is building the 220-odd apartment complex at Remarkables Park. The development has been pitched as a solution to Queenstown's affordable housing woes.

Trust executive officer Julie Scott said it was good news for the resort. "This is an exciting opportunity to assist another 50 families into secure, affordable housing. We now have more than 500 households on our waiting list, and this purchase will go a long way to helping with our goal of assisting 1,000 households in the next 10 years."

She said the apartments were likely to be used for a mixture of affordable rentals and assisted-ownership homes.

The initial funding was pitched as a "Shared Home Equity Product" (Shep) which was proposed following the launch of the Queenstown Lakes District Council's mayoral task force in December, set up to tackle unaffordable housing.

Scott said work on the one- and two-bedroom apartments would start today.

NCG managing director Roy Thompson said he was thrilled with the news.

"We are very pleased to be working with Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust to help house key workers in our district. We see this relationship as satisfying important social and commercial objectives for our organisation."

It will retain 78 of the properties as long-term rentals.

- Otago Daily Times