TToH chief executive George Reedy said the project was the first of its kind in Hawke's Bay, in its design and the process to get it off the ground.
"Te Aranga Marae was part of the working party when we were looking at options - it's community doing it for themselves."
Proposed to be located on a 15.5ha of bare land between Boston Crescent and Kirkwood Rd, the plan included a mixture of 76 houses in a cohousing village and 44 houses in a conventional development.
The cohousing approach was designed to encourage a sense of community with common neighbourhood facilities and green spaces.
TToH contracted Regenerative Ltd to come up with the model that project manager Emma Horgan said would be developed further in consultation with prospective homeowners.
"We are creating a shared community space with lots of opportunities for interaction.
"There will be no roads through it, and walkways around the periphery so people get to see their neighbours."
The clusters would comprise 20 houses with their own shared green space.
"Being involved in the design gives people a sense of ownership - the community is involved right from the beginning," Ms Horgan said.
The development would also include a medical and social hub, a pop-up cafe, a community dairy co-operative providing healthy options, (no alcohol or cigarettes), and a small business incubator.
A self-sustaining food forest was also part of the model, with organic plants producing fruits, berries, vegetables, herbs, seeds and other edible plants, established using permaculture principles.
Ms Horgan said homeowners in the cohousing section of the development would be self-governing, outside organisations would not be brought into run it.
Consultation on the project would continue until November 24 and a report would be submitted to Hastings District Council for approval in December.
Mr Reedy said if approval was given work could start on the full design, and feedback from people spoken to to date had been overwhelmingly positive.
"People are excited to see this opportunity to build a strong, vibrant community."
At a community information meeting on Monday this week, 12 people expressed interest in buying into the development.
Acting mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the land had been available for a long time, and there had been much discussion over the years about how best to use it.
"There's infrastructure in place in parts of the development and we have looked at a number of models over the years, and this is by far the best option."
She said she had talked to some young people in the Flaxmere area who said this offered the chance to buy an affordable first home, which would not have been possible before.
"This is about partnership - we know we have an enormous need for affordable housing but we can't do it on our own - we need to build partnerships with Taiwhenua and central government to look at the options," Mrs Hazlehurst said.
To find out more about the project go to www.waingakau.co.nz.
