Mountain Scene can reveal the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust and New Ground Capital (NGC) are re-exploring Toru Central, the second of three planned Toru apartment buildings below the Remarkables Park shopping centre.
NGC completed Toru East at the end of 2020 — officially opened in 2021, 50 of the 78 units in the seven-level building were purchased by the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust for affordable housing — the remainder were retained by NGC and sold to open market.
However, due to the Covid-induced construction challenges, stages two and three — comprising another 152 apartments — were shelved.
Till now.
Housing trust boss Julie Scott says they’re working with NGC on opportunities to construct the second, smaller apartment building, which would hopefully comprise another 80 units.
‘‘The plan, if we can do it, under a 50-50 venture, would be for us to take half each,’’ she says.
In an ‘‘ideal world’’, NGC would retain theirs under a build-to-rent programme, while the housing trust’s would go into a variety of housing programmes.
While they’re still working through the cost of construction with potential contractors, Scott’s ever-hopeful they can get it out of the ground.
‘‘It’s such an amazing location, it’s a really well-built, high-quality building — everyone who lives there loves it, and that’s the best feedback.’’
Meantime, the housing trust’s also lodged consent for 15 one- and two-bedroom homes at Arthurs Point’s Bullenrise.
Scott’s hoping civil works can start in a couple of months and be finished this year, around the same time as the final residents of the under-construction 68-home Tewa Banks development, in Arrowtown, move in.
The last six households of the second stage will move in there at the end of this month, with stage three households expected to follow soon after.
‘‘I think we’re thinking around March ’27, we should have it all locked and loaded, done and dusted.’’
Negotiations are also continuing with developers of Park Ridge, between Kelvin Heights and Hanley’s Farm, for an affordable development there.
