Zion Church building community

Zion pastor Phil Strong at the front of the site which it is proposed will be cleared for the new affordable homes partnership project. Photo / Dean Taylor

A Te Awamutu church is stepping in to the unknown, as it moves ahead with plans to release 8095m2 of Racecourse Rd land for 40 new affordable homes.

The project is proposed by Zion in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and includes various sized townhouses that would be offered in a mixture of tenure types, including ownership and rental.

Zion pastor Phil Strong said the church had embraced an opportunity to repurpose its land to serve housing need in the community, while realising an aspiration to "build community".

Concept layout for new affordable house development.

"We desire to be active contributors of solutions, and felt the church land could be better used to have some real impact where it's needed – for us, we saw the most urgent need to be housing."

The project would mean the church would be cleared from the site, but Phil says it is about moving forward and doing a social good.

He has been working on the project for about four years, taking the congregation with him and forming a number of new business relationships.

"Housing simply needs to be more accessible, which requires it to be more affordable.

"The proposed site plan includes a wide, open common green space for residents and their families to enjoy."

Homes will be 40 townhouses, with a mix of one, two and three-bedroom, and a range of housing typologies from subsidised rental to private home ownership.

Part of the plan will be a 'rent-to-own' programme to help people start on the home ownership path.

There will also be programmes to help people with their financial wellness.

Phil says there will be a body corporate to take care of maintenance and upkeep, so all tenants and owners will be on an even footing.

Concept for new affordable house development.

"It means we can maintain a high standard and take pressure off those least able to manage," he says.

Habitat for Humanity Central Region CEO Nic Greene said this could help many local whanau achieve their housing aspirations, and was one of many similar scale projects under way across the region.

"This is being made possible through the leadership of Zion, the contribution of their land and the experience that Habitat brings with the provision of affordable housing.

"This is an incredible opportunity for Te Awamutu."

Habitat for Humanity operates local facility Freeman Court and Palmer St pensioner housing, and would be the provider of social rental and progressive home ownership at Racecourse Rd.

Phil said the plans were currently under consideration by Waipā District Council, and the church was eagerly awaiting a decision on resource consent.

Concept for new affordable house development.

"We believe in a 'church without walls', so this is how we'll choose to live for now. This may mean we 'pop up' in a variety of locations, and it may mean we're geographically mobile.

"What's more exciting, though, is the prospect of housing outcomes in our hometown, in this community where there are so many people deserving of an affordable decent place to live."