Kāinga Ora has delivered 174 homes in Hawke's Bay since July 2021.
About 230 new homes are expected to be completed in Napier within 18 months to two years.
A further 100 at least are planned longer-term in what government housing agency Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities calls the “largest social housing redevelopment programme” the city has seen.
While some partsof the build are under way and others have been announced, the full extent is being unveiled at a “drop-in session” on Wednesday, at Te Taiwhenua o Te Whanganui ā Orotu, 2 Wellesley Road, Napier South.
Using mainly places of other former state housing, including some vacant since large-scale demolition and removal of buildings a decade ago, the redevelopment focuses on 20 sites across eastern Onekawa and Marewa, and the suburb of Maraenui.
Housing completed recently in Kelvin Place, Maraenui, similar to some of the homes being developed by government agency Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities across three Napier suburbs over the next 18 months to two years.
In all, 229 homes are already in the pipeline, with those in Onekawa including 62 in streets near Maraenui Park, where large-scale site-clearing has recently taken place and where construction is expected to be completed by late next year.
In Maraenui, 35 homes are planned across three sites in Bledisloe Road, near the Maraenui shopping centre reserve, and where demolition crews swept in a decade ago. Some are expected to be completed late next year and the remainder, including 30 in Lister Crescent, Lister Place and Geddis Avenue, to start early in the New Year and expected to be completed in 2025.
Among construction that will be completed “soon” are nine homes in Bright Crescent and six homes in Masefield Avenue. Marewa sites include 18 more homes in Seddon Crescent, where 24 homes in a separate development were completed earlier this year, and 35 homes are planned across four sites in Barker Road, Bedford Road and Lowry Terrace.
Kāinga Ora East North Island director Naomi Whitewood said 180 homes are under construction or in development , while Kāinga Ora is looking into the feasibility of building another 140 homes on existing sites.
Occupation of the homes is expected to finally put a dent in the statistics, with Whitewood saying that 723 whānau in Napier are on the housing waiting list of the Ministry of Social Development.
“Too many Napier whānau are living in cars, motels, severely overcrowded homes and on the Napier beachfront,” Whitewood said. “These people need a suitable home from which to build their lives.”
The drop-in sessions, from 1-7pm on Wednesday will be an opportunity for people to “find-out more, meet our team, and share their views”.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 50 years of journalism experience in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
