Barrett Homes partners with Kāinga Ora on social housing in Northland

Barrett Homes general manager Phil O'Reilly says new public housing builds in Northland should be seen in a positive light. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A senior manager of Barrett Homes that partnered with Kāinga Ora on a social housing development is calling on the public to be positive around initiatives that get people into warm and dry homes.

Phil O’Reilly, general manager of Barrett Homes, is excited about the 35-home development Kāinga Ora is carrying out at Tiaki Rise in Tikipunga to cater for a shortfall of housing in the Northland.

“We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to work with Kāinga Ora to deliver a project of this scale. This is a great opportunity for some of the less privileged communities who are needing a safe, dry space to call home.”

Kāinga Ora will spend just over $26 million to buy the 35 warm, dry and modern homes that make up Stage Four of the Tiaki Rise development in Tikipunga to cater for a mix of family sizes. The overall 122-home subdivision is being led by EB Developments and is predominantly being built by Barrett Homes.

“There can be some stigma around public housing, but we are looking at it as a positive. I’ve had friends that have had to live in cars, and I have families that have moved around multiple homes, and it warms our heart to know we’ll be part of the solution,” O’Reilly said.

He said group home building in the private sector has to ride the highs and lows that the industry presents currently, and if you could feather this out by aligning with Government-based work, it could give your business more stability.

“Look at other building groups that have folded in the last three months in Whangārei - the industry has some definite challenges. Projects like these could be the alpha that gets companies like ours through slow times”. That stability, O’Reilly said, flowed through the business, and its suppliers, merchants and subbies get to lock in the benefit of a consistent workflow.

It was not the ones and twos Barrett Homes was pitching for, but it was looking to scale up and achieve far greater numbers over time, and the Tiaki Rise development was a great vehicle to make things happen.