Kāinga Ora apartments at 4 Parawai Cres, Ponsonby, has been vacated for upgrades. Photo / Mike Scott
Kāinga Ora apartments at 4 Parawai Cres, Ponsonby, has been vacated for upgrades. Photo / Mike Scott
Ponsonby residents have expressed surprise about state-owned apartments only finished in 2019 being cleared of residents, scaffolding covering units and construction work being carried out there.
“Someone mucked up”, said one resident when he saw the 15 one-bedroom units at Parawai Cres off Richmond Rd covered in scaffolding and builders’wrap.
“Surprising,” said another about builders returning to the relatively new apartments.
Locals have wondered what is happening at the places in the wealthy area so close to Ponsonby Rd.
Protective wrap covers units during this repair phase.
And they're back - builders return to five-year-old state apartments. Photo / Mike Scott
Patrick Dougherty, Kāinga Ora’s general manager of construction and innovation, said the units were undergoing improvements to create a better living environment.
“Work being undertaken includes replacing existing balustrades and installing new vertical solid screens to balconies to create more privacy for customers,”he said.
“We are also relocating the entrances from Parawai Cres to Richmond Rd to provide a covered walkway into the complex, landscaping and fencing to create visual barrier for the ground floor units, creating a more usable communal outdoor space, and painting the exterior in a darker colour, new fencing and landscaping to integrate better with the local community.”
Vision in blue - repaint on the agenda for these newish apartments. Photo / Mike Scott
The site is fenced during the work for health and safety measures.
All residents have been relocated.
“Given the scope of the work and the extensive scaffolding required, for safety reasons customers living in the complex were moved into other Kāinga Ora homes,” Dougherty said.
“They will have the opportunity to return to the complex once the improvements are completed in February,” Dougherty said.
Dougherty said wrap needed to cover the apartments.
Look out, the builders are back - already. Photo / Mike Scott
“The buildings have been wrapped to protect them from rain during the remedial work, which involves removing part of the exterior cladding so new balustrades can be installed without compromising the structural integrity of the building. Because the buildings have been wrapped and there is extensive scaffolding on site, it was simply not feasible for customers to stay living in the units”.
Balconies were not dangerous, he stressed.
“The balconies were not unsafe. The building did meet all compliance and regulation requirements when it was completed in 2019.
“We are undertaking some design improvements to improve the quality of living experience for our customers and improve the integration with the local community,” Dougherty said.
The design work will not only include replacing existing balustrades but also installing new solid screens to create more privacy for customers.
A spokeswoman for Auckland Council said there were no compliance issues at the block.
The council had no involvement in the apartments from that point of view, she said.
One resident erected a screen before work started on the Kāinga Ora units at 4 Parawai Cres in Ponsonby.
Historic images showed single-level red brick homes with gardens once stood on the corner site.
The apartments rose quickly later last decade. Miles Construction had its signage on the site in 2018 when building work was under way.
Kāinga Ora used cross-laminated timber in a panelised system at the units.
Images of the units before evacuation showed residents were using screens to attempt to gain privacy on their balcony.
One level-one unit’s balcony was covered via a screen attached to the balustrade.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
