An artist's impression of the new building. Image / Supplied
An artist's impression of the new building. Image / Supplied
Social housing provider Compass is to manage tenancies in eight new apartments that will be built at the former Mid Town Motor Inn site in Whanganui's Victoria Ave.
Compass Housing Services is a registered Community Housing Organisation and already manages the tenancy of 26 social housing units at the rearof the property. Both sets of units will be owned and built by Soho Group.
Soho has resource consent for the next phase of building, which was designed by Chow:Hill Architects. Construction is to begin next year and be finished by early 2023.
The result will be four one-bedroom and four two-bedroom units, Compass general manager Dr Bernadette Pinnell said. The greatest demand for housing in Whanganui is for one and two-bedroom units.
"We have an ongoing commitment in social housing, in areas where it is needed," Pinnell said.
Each will have a private deck, and the lower four will have ramped access from the car park, making them suitable for people in wheelchairs or users of mobility scooters. The upper units will be accessed by stairs.
The two-bedroom ones will be suitable for both older people with live-in carers, and families.
Like the units at rear, they will exceed the New Zealand building code, meet Healthy Homes Standards and reach the New Zealand Green Building Council's Homestar 6 rating.
The new building will also contain an office for Compass, and a room where helping agencies can meet the tenants. A new tenancy officer has been hired, but will not live on site.
"That [would be] taking away houses that will go to someone who needs it," Pinnell said.
The tenants will be people who have qualified with the Ministry of Social Development as needing social housing, and their rents will be 25 per cent of their benefits. In September there were 363 people on that register in Whanganui and the ministry's September figure is not out yet.
The former Inn Bar on Victoria Ave will be demolished and replaced with a new commercial building. Photo / Bevan Conley
At street level, the former Inn Bar will be demolished. Closing it down was one condition of the housing development.
Soho will find and manage a commercial tenant for the mixed-use building that replaces it.
"Soho are committed not to put anything in there that will adversely affect the residents," Pinnell said.
