$70 million haven for city's homeless

St Matthew's will contribute half the land to be developed to serve the homeless, the church and the inner-city community. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

The Auckland City Mission is joining forces with an inner-city church and the private sector to house more than half of the city's homeless alongside classy cafes and apartments.

The high-powered Committee for Auckland, chaired by Beca Carter founder Sir Ron Carter, is working with the mission and St Matthew-in-the-City to run an "ideas competition" to redevelop a prime 4300 sq m site including the mission's existing Hobson St building and the land between it and the church.

Housing NZ, the Auckland City Council and the ASB Trusts have each contributed $25,000 to a prize fund.

A shortlist of three teams, to be selected by mid-year, will bring architects together with social agencies and commercial developers.

The resulting project may include a unique mix of expensive and affordable apartments, offices, shops, cafes, a medical centre, daycare centre, detox and HIV/Aids services, and kitchens and meeting rooms that can serve the homeless, the church and the inner-city community.

"There are 250 to 400 homeless in the central business district," said City Missioner Diane Robertson. "We could well house up to 200. Part of the architectural brief is to see what is the best way to do that."

The project is inspired by developments in London and New York, where grand old hotels and apartment blocks have been converted into homes and facilities for the homeless.

The Auckland project is likely to include several buildings costing a total of around $70 million.

"If you are doing it commercially with partners in Government and Housing New Zealand, it's that public-private mix that will fund it," Ms Robertson said.

Housing NZ's involvement is through its $63 million housing innovation fund, which provides grants and low-interest loans to community groups and councils for social housing.

St Matthew's would contribute half the land. Its existing carpark building would be demolished, with parking probably provided underground.

"It obviously falls within our mission," said the Rev Clay Nelson, who convenes the parish's working group for the project.

"But, churches being conservative by definition, we are reserving final judgment until we see how it evolves. In the meantime, we are excited by the concept."

St Matthew's has a long history of commitment to social justice and is the home of the Auckland Community Church for gay and lesbian Christians.

Committee for Auckland member Richard Didsbury, founder of the Kiwi Income Property Trust, said the church was "one of the best pieces of architecture in Auckland" and the development would aim to enhance it.

"The site has a very high profile for traffic going along Hobson St to the motorway.

"It's got the proximity to Aotea Square - we will be looking at linkages across.

"This is going to take some years to bring to a head. No one wants to do something that is compromised. We want to do the right thing.

"We are patient. If there is a little bit of an over-supply of apartments at the moment and we have to wait for a year or two, then I don't think anyone would mind about that."

The project coincides with an Auckland City Council plan to start a mobile outreach service for the homeless and provide facilities such as showers and storage lockers, which may be included in the development.

The council is also exploring a possible identity card for the homeless to allow them to open accounts with the Westpac bank and is keen to support a local version of the Big Issue, a magazine produced and sold by the homeless in Britain, Australia and Southern Africa. 

www.hnzc.co.nz/HIO