The recent announcement by Housing Minister Phil Twyford of the Government’s plans to build around 10,000 new homes in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill is another important milestone for the Auckland Housing Programme – a joint initiative between HLC and Housing New Zealand to deliver small, medium and large-scale housing developments Auckland-wide.
Over the next 10-15 years, 3,000 older state properties will be removed from the 143-hectare Mt Roskill site. Their large, underutilised sections will then be used to provide a mix of new state, more affordable and market housing that benefits the whole community.
The new homes will provide warm, healthy and modern homes for thousands of residents, and will reflect Auckland’s move to medium-density urban living.
“This redevelopment will include more than 2,400 modest, affordable KiwiBuild homes for first-home buyers, around 3,000 market homes, and more than 3,000 new state homes,” Mr Twyford said. “It will give many in the community a real shot at owning their own home.”
Building for Stage 1 of the project has already started in Roskill South, and the 80 new homes will welcome their first residents mid-to-late next year.
The second stage of the project has commenced and home construction will begin mid next year. Stage 2 will replace 90 older state homes from the post-war era with 300 new homes, including around 60 state homes and a mix of market and KiwiBuild homes.
The Roskill South development will take around six years to complete and, when finished, will feature around 300 new state homes and around 600 more affordable and market homes. Alongside this is the similar development in the neighbouring suburb of Ōwairaka.
At every stage of the development process, existing Housing New Zealand tenants in the neighbourhood will have the full support of a dedicated tenancy liaison team, in order to provide help, listen to feedback and give any relevant financial assistance.
Both developments will improve infrastructure and facilities for the greater Mt Roskill area, and will take advantage of the council and central government’s Auckland Transport Alignment Project, through a link to the planned airport-city light rail corridor.
“Not only will this redevelopment provide families in Mt Roskill with high-quality new homes, it will provide the infrastructure to cope with growth and connect with the planned light rail line,” Mr Twyford said. “With access to rapid transport and new warm, dry homes for families, the redevelopment is a fantastic outcome for the Mt Roskill community.”
