Five years after Queenstown’s first affordable housing complex was opened, work’s due to start next month on an almost identical one next door. The six-level Toru East, below Frankton’s Remarkables Park shopping centre, comprises 78 apartments, of which 42 are controlled by the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust. Developer New Ground Capital’s (NGC) now about to break ground on Toru Central, expected to cost $30-$50 million. It’ll comprise 80 units, of which the housing trust’s buying 36, while Central Lakes Trust’s investment arm’s taking another 18. “It’s been a long process getting to this point,” NGC managing director, Arrowtowner Roy Thompson says. “We’re very thankful the stars are now aligning, and the housing trust and CLT have really stepped up and decided to get behind the project.” Thompson had also planned a Toru West building, but has now sold the 3629 square metre site to another developer who’s planning a medium-density, lower-height housing complex. Housing trust CEO Julie Scott says “this is a really big project for us, but it’s pretty exciting”. The first Toru had been “a huge success”, offering affordable housing across different tenures including the assisted ownership ‘secure home’ programme, rentals and 15 units managed as social housing under a government contract. The trust bought 50 units but sold off eight on the open market to assist the financing the others — a model that might be repeated with Toru Central. The government had also provided a $6.35m interest-free loan for 25 secure home units. “This was the first time we’ve ever purchased private property off a private developer, and we did it because we were very supportive of this kind of higher-density housing in the district,” Scott says. “We weren’t experienced in going to higher density above two levels, so it just made sense for us to support the project.” The key to Toru is its central location, she says, near a supermarket and other shops, a bus stop, Wakatipu High School and Remarkables Primary. Thompson adds: “We really feel strongly that the answer to a lot of Queenstown’s housing challenges is to densify where it makes sense, where there’s already infrastructure, where there’s already transport. “We don’t believe in just sort of sprawling further and further out in and around the district, especially where infrastructure doesn’t exist — our roads are clogged already.” He’s also grateful to the council for keeping NGC’s original consents alive. “We’re certainly appreciative of the fact council wants to see this happen and have been supportive. “This fits within the joint housing action plan, we’re creating more density in the right location, so it’s ticking boxes.” With Toru Central’s remaining 26 units he’s talking to large employers who might be interested in buying or leasing some of them for staff accommodation. As with the first Toru, Thompson’s also planning to incorporate a couple of commercial units. He expects this second Toru — a contractor’s still being finalised — to be completed in two years’ time. Charitable trust’s affordable housing stake It’s little known that the investment arm of charitable trust, Central Lakes Trust, takes an active interest in increasing the amount of affordable housing in Queenstown. In the original Toru complex it was a major investor — it subsequently sold down its stake to the housing trust and also on the open market. It’s now bought 18 units, for a confidential sum, in Toru Central. Chief executive Barbara Bridger says “by the time they come to market they presumably will be worth more than what we’ve paid for them, and then we’ll make a decision about whether we’ll on-sell them at a commercial rate or enter into some arrangement with someone like the housing trust and make them available through a secure home or an affordable rental programme”. “I mean, it would be good to perhaps offload these and then recycle that capital and continue to do more developments. “We’ve worked with New Ground before with Toru East and we’re very happy with how that panned out.” Bridger says they also have a good relationship with the housing trust and would like to work with them more. scoop@scene.co.nz
