
Aaron Lodge was bought by Kāinga Ora for more than $4 million about four years ago. After being used as a supported isolation and quarantine (SIQ) facility during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has remained empty, leaving the public wondering about its future.
The property has been on the market since early this year and the sale is now unconditional.
It is due to be settled at the end of October.
Kāinga Ora regional director for Otago, Southland and South Canterbury Kerrie Young said while several development options and layout plans were explored for the Aaron Lodge site, changing market conditions and rising construction costs meant the social housing project was no longer financially viable.
"We’ve been looking closely at our property portfolio to make sure we’re spending our funds wisely and investing in the right places.
"Selling the property made the best economic sense, and we’re pleased to have secured a buyer."
Kāinga Ora did not confirm the name of the buyer when approached by the ODT.
Last year, Mr Radich proposed the site as a possible temporary housing complex for homeless people, but Housing Minister Chris Bishop rejected the idea, saying the building lacked "local services required for a cohort of individuals with complex needs".
The buildings also did not comply with fulltime residential occupation requirements, and extensive upgrades would be needed to bring them up to standard, he said.
Cr Mandy Mayhem had also hoped it could be repurposed for some form of social housing.
She first heard of the sale yesterday morning.
"I’m doubly disappointed. It’s a depressing situation.
"We have so many people on our housing waiting list, and Kāinga Ora’s waiting list and yet they don’t seem to want to use the facilities to serve the community."
Cr Mayhem said the sale, combined with its slowdown of development by Kāinga Ora, left a "gaping hole" in the social housing space in Dunedin.
"This is not the result we wanted, and we can only speculate who bought this site, but we had done a lot of work behind the scenes to potentially make it suitable for pastoral care and the like."
Cr Mayhem said she had been told of an offer which "fell through" before the more recent one went through the process.
More details would likely be released next month, she said.