Kāinga Ora would like to thank you for your ongoing support. This year has had its challenges, but together we have had another successful year of providing new, warm and dry homes to thousands of Kiwis. 

We know next year will be even bigger and, as ever, we are conscious that we couldn’t keep delivering these homes without our valued partners.

Here at Kāinga Ora, one of our values is manaakitanga – people at the heart – and this year we want to be mindful that some people are not as fortunate as we are. We are therefore asking anyone who wishes to show appreciation to our people that you consider donating to charity instead of sending gifts. The same applies to invitations (in Level 2 areas).

If we do receive any gifts, we will be running raffles, with all proceeds going to housing-related charities. Thank you in advance for your support with this initiative.

Keep in touch and sign your colleagues up to receive the bulletin by emailing updates@kaingaora.govt.nz.

Infrastructure Acceleration Fund

Housing developments throughout the country are now one step closer to fruition, as more than 80 proposed developments from councils, iwi and developers are through to the next stage of the Government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF).

More than 200 initial proposals were subject to a robust evaluation and successful applicants now need to submit a detailed response to an RFP invitation before the end of the year.

The IAF is designed to allocate funding for key infrastructure to enable housing development and we look forward to announcing final funding decisions from early 2022.

Final dates for tenders

Please be advised that the last day for Kāinga Ora to release tenders that will close before Christmas is Friday 19 November. This will allow respondents adequate time to prepare and respond to tenders, well in advance of the end of the year.

Kāinga Ora will still release tenders after Friday 19 November, however, these tenders will likely close in 2022. This excludes the agreed process we run for our Construction Partnering Agreements (CPA) work request/proposal.

For any queries, please contact Emma Taylor or Lorraine Symes from the Commercial Partnerships team by emailing commercialpartnerships@kaingaora.govt.nz

Final superlots in Ōwairaka to be released

Kāinga Ora will soon present an opportunity to development partners on our Invitation to Participate (ITP) list to purchase land to build affordable and market homes in the final stage of our Ōwairaka neighbourhood of the Roskill Development.

This offer is for the final 16 superlots within Ōwairaka, with a combined yield of approximately 400 new homes. The Information Memorandum will be launched to the market on 10 November, and the closing date for submissions will be 15 December 2021.

For more information about becoming a partner in our urban development projects, visit https://udd-itp.co.nz/ or email procurement-UDD@kaingaora.govt.nz.

Fly the Flag event

As mentioned in the September bulletin, mental health charity MATES in Construction has its annual Fly the Flag campaign coming up. Originally set to mark World Suicide Prevention Day in September, it was postponed until Wednesday 10 November due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Fly the Flag event raises awareness about the importance of talking about mental health and suicide prevention within the construction industry. You can find more information about the Fly the Flag event here.

MATES Field Officer Raman Lee is seeking registrations now for Kāinga Ora partners interested in participating in a MATES mental health toolbox talk over the week of 8 to 12 November. These talks can happen onsite in Auckland or online in other regions.  

If you are interested, please email Raman at rlee@mates.net.nz or call him on 027 778 8206. Alternatively, the MATES team also has resources here, which enable you to run your own mental health toolbox talk.

Public housing hits world stage

An innovative new Kāinga Ora public housing pilot tackling climate change in the built environment is currently featuring on the world stage at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26).

Ngā Kāinga Anamata, meaning ‘homes of the future’, aims to drive carbon emission reduction in New Zealand’s construction industry. The project has been selected as one of 17 global initiatives to feature in the COP26 'Build Better Now' virtual pavilion open now.

The project will deliver 30 new homes within five three-level apartment buildings in Auckland’s Glendowie. Each near-identical building will use a different construction technology, enabling sustainability insights to be gathered on a range of building materials and systems.

Kāinga Ora Commercial Director Matt Noyes says Ngā Kāinga Anamata is focussed on meeting the Government’s carbon emission targets, and will achieve both Passive House standard and net zero energy.

“By focusing on the trifecta of using low carbon materials, operational energy efficient solutions and local renewable energy generation we have slashed lifecycle carbon emissions to a fraction of a traditional New Zealand home,” he said.

Aurecon is an industry partner playing a crucial role in bringing Ngā Kāinga Anamata to life. Matt Capon, Aurecon’s NZ Buildings Leader, says: “Kāinga Ora is driving a step change in public housing and the wider NZ building industry by using the Passive House framework to deliver this development.”

“For the Aurecon team, it is really rewarding to be involved in a project that will make such a difference for residents and their whānau, while showcasing what can be done to reduce the impact of the built environment on the planet.”

Ngā Kāinga Anamata seeks to resolve many underlying problems with the housing sector in Aotearoa and is the start of a national response to climate change mitigation in the built environment. To find out more about the project visit: kaingaora.govt.nz/ngakaingaanamata

Ngā Kāinga Anamata​ - Each building will use a different construction technology, providing greater sustainability insights on a range of building materials and systems.

Bespoke home for disabled customers

A partnership between Kāinga Ora, build partners and Pukeko Blue Ltd – a provider of residential services to people with mental, physical and intellectual disabilities – has delivered a bespoke, fit-for-purpose home that will meet the lifelong and changing needs of customers.

Pukeko Blue worked closely with Stuart Manning Architects, WSP, Miles Construction and Kāinga Ora to build the large six-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Christchurch, and group members moved in last month.

“We had to initially understand the group’s needs in terms of access, mobility, just being able to get around and just make it a home for them despite limitations in movement and things like wheelchairs,” said Stuart Manning.

“I feel like the result is a place that looks like a home, fits into the street scenario really well, but as you wander through you realise it’s really customised to fit that user group really well.”

The home features an insulated concrete floor slab and meets 6 Homestar standards, but working closely with the group meant changes could also be made throughout design and construction to ensure it best met the customers’ needs.

The finished home is fully accessible with level-entry access, wider halls and doorways, handrails throughout and wet-area bathrooms, while a fire alarm and sprinkler system automatically closes all internal fire doors and alerts Fire and Emergency when activated.

“It’s exactly what we need,” said Pukeko Blue Quality Manager Deborah Cook.

“It just meets all the requirements and it’s a lovely home – it’ll be a home for life. As our people age and their ability or mobility declines, this home will continue to meet their needs.”

Partners in providing a custom home, from left: Pukeko Blue Quality Manager Deborah Cook, Kāinga Ora Supported Housing Regional Lead Vivienne Limmer, Kāinga Ora Project Manager David James, WSP Senior Project Manager Andy Harris, Miles Construction’s Karl Robinson, Kāinga Ora Development Manager Lesa Davidson, and architect Stuart Manning.

Significant Hamilton build gains consent

A 60 home state and market housing development on vacant land in Flagstaff, Hamilton has recently received resource consent, and is now in the procurement planning and business case phase of development.

The 36 public and 24 market homes will be built on an approximately two-hectare Crown-owned site at Endeavour Avenue, with a mix of 41 two-storey homes and 19 homes in two-storey apartment buildings. There will be a shared community room, landscaped and planted green spaces, and walking and cycling paths. The homes will located on an internal loop road, with 135 off-street parks.

With resource consent granted in August, Kāinga Ora is now pushing ahead with the business case, procurement approach and detailed design for the homes. An early-mid 2022 start is planned on site, with completion targeted for late 2023.

We are exploring delivery options and timeframes for the market homes, with ongoing discussions taking place with Waikato-Tainui.

The build is the largest single site state housing build undertaken in the city, with a further 47 home partnership development on the opposite side of Hamilton currently in for resource consent consideration.

www.kaingaora.govt.nz/endeavouravenue