Kāinga Ora’s three-storey inner city housing ready in Napier

A new era of inner city living in Napier has arrived with the completion of social housing agency Kāinga Ora’s three-storey, 12-unit apartment building in Wellesley Rd.

The new three-storey Kainga Ora block of 12 apartments in Wellesley Rd, Napier, just 120 metres from the Napier Health Centre. Photo / Doug Laing

The building, just south of the roundabout intersection with Raffles Street, has four two-bedroom homes on each floor.

It is designed particularly for those who need to live close to the CBD, or have regular needs at medical facilities such as the Napier Health Centre, just 120 metres away.

Ground floor units each have extra mobility access design, and secure bicycle racks, but no off-street car parking.

The units were blessed on Friday morning.

Kāinga Ora is still going through the process of placing the new occupants, with health needs a priority.

The complex is thought to be state housing’s first apartment build of more than two storeys in Napier since the construction of the Carnell St flats, now demolished after more than 50 years of tenancy.

Each apartment has outdoor space, with decking and small gardens at ground level and balconies on the upper levels, but are not considered suitable for children.

Started about 12 months ago, with some neighbour and public concerns about no resident off-road parking, they were developed by Soho Group and built by Greenwich Construction.

Kāinga Ora says Napier is an “area” of focus in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s Public Housing Plan.

The city had 717 people on the Ministry of Social Development’s Housing register at the end of 2023.

By November the number had dropped to 542, and further inroads are expected with more housing completed.

In December, Kainga Ora opened 19 new homes in Venables Ave and McLaren Cr, Onekawa South, and is opening seven two-bedroom single-storey homes on Taradale Rd.

In 2024 it had housed 755 people in Napier, including 396 children.

Over the last four years 221 new homes have been “delivered” in Napier, among 610 in Hawke’s Bay, with another 101 due for completion in Napier this year, and a further 51 due next year.

Naomi Whitewood, regional director East North Island East North Island, said 19 whānau would be in new homes “in the next couple of weeks”.

The view from an upper floor with the Napier Health Centre walking-distance away. Photo / Doug Laing

“We know that having a warm, dry place to call home can make such a huge difference to people’s lives,” she said.

Kāinga Ora is also ensuring appropriate “wrap-around” services are provided, a spokesperson said.

Whitewood said some whanau had been living in transitional and temporary accommodation.

With the school year just starting, she said: “We continue to focus on ensuring our tamariki have a healthy, long-term place in which to grow”.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 41 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.