Palmerston North City Council completes its Papaioea Place social housing redevelopment

Tenants Jeanette Chandler (left) and Heeni-Kaye Stirling enjoy bingo run by council communications advisers to mark the official opening of the Papaioea Place tenants' lounge. Photo / Judith Lacy

Helen Williams loves living in Papaioea Place so much she plans to be there until she “pops her clogs”. Then she will go out in a “pine box”.

Williams now has another reason to add to the list of why she enjoys living in Palmerston North City Council’s social housing complex - a tenants’ lounge.

The lounge was officially opened by Deputy Mayor Debi Marshall-Lobb last week. She was standing in for Mayor Grant Smith, who was in Japan on council business.

The lounge name Whakaruruhau was gifted by Rangitāne iwi - it means shelter in te reo Māori.

Marshall-Lobb said the tenants’ lounge was the icing on the cake of the redeveloped complex. She told the tenants the council wants the lounge to be an extension of their homes.

May it be of lasting benefit to all of you and to everyone who lives here in the future, she said.

After more than a year of construction, the tenants’ lounge and final seven units are completed, marking the end of the Papaioea Place project.

Redevelopment of the complex began in 2019 and 85 new units have been built. The units and lounge were built by Latitude Homes.

The new units are open plan and future-proofed for any potential mobility or agility needs, property and resource recovery group manager Bryce Hosking said. They’re also all double-glazed and well-insulated, securing four and five-star Lifemark certifications.

Homes with a five-star rating are extremely accessible and this is the ultimate rating for a home that has all requirements in place to be usable, adaptable and wheelchair-friendly. Four-star rated units are still well-designed for ageing in place, and can be adapted further if required.

Hosking said the fully accessible lounge was designed to give residents a welcoming space to connect with their neighbours and host celebrations with their friends and whānau.

The lounge has couches, a dining table, a kitchenette and toilets. The outdoor area has raised vegetable gardens (to be planted when it is not so hot), seats and a pergola.

Tenant Kui Taite at the official opening of the tenants' lounge at Papaioea Place social housing complex on January 31. Photo / Judith Lacy

An August 2023 report to the council’s community committee said there had been a “circa 15-week delay” in completing the lounge. This was due to adverse weather when completing earthworks, and a minor redesign of the structural foundation posts and steel framing that also required a revised building consent.

At the official opening on January 31, Councillor Lorna Johnson said she and now retired councillor Susan Baty had been involved in the redevelopment project since the beginning. She added that it was lovely to be there at the end.

Johnson said the lounge being built was down to the tenants. It was not in the original plans but residents petitioned the council for a place they could meet.

“It was a little bit of a fight to get it through.”

Not everyone agreed a lounge should be built instead of another two units but Johnson said she thought all elected members would now say it was the right decision.

Croydon Nilsen has lived at the complex for two years. His unit is lovely and he thinks the tenants’ lounge will be convenient for entertaining groups.

Tenant Dennis Bulloch said the lounge is beautifully made with lots of windows and natural light. It lacked ambience but this might develop.

Bulloch said the lounge needs pictures on the walls and a noticeboard plus input from residents on how they can use it.

Hosking said council staff are looking forward to working with the tenants to make the space their own.

Palmerston North City Council principal Māori adviser Todd Taiepa (centre) chats to Papaioea Place residents Roena Farr and Ian Crellen. Photo / Judith Lacy

Tenant Heeni-Kaye Stirling is going to help start a ukulele group. She said the lounge provides the chance for tenants to create their own fun and recreation.

Williams has lived in the complex for about nine years, five of which have been in her warm new unit. She said the old units were not nice but the new ones are lovely. “You couldn’t fault them.”

Judith Lacy has been the editor of the Manawatū Guardian since December 2020. She graduated from journalism school in 2001 and this is her second role editing a community paper.