This was followed by the construction of three sets of four one-bedroom units \u2013 12 homes in total, which were locally dubbed the \u201ccontainer homes\u201d<\/a> for their early appearance. <\/p>\n They controversially cost more than $630,000 each to build<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stage three was originally meant to be finished by April but K\u0101inga Ora Waikato and Bay of Plenty regional director Mark Rawson told the Rotorua Daily Post this week the new timeframe was now September.<\/p>\n He said K\u0101inga Ora carried out testing on all of its sites before construction began.<\/p>\n \u201cTesting on the Malfroy Rd and Ranolf St site determined that ground improvements were needed, and this work has extended the early part of the project due to a number of factors, including the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n Rawson said this work was now finished and construction of the homes would begin in early March, with completion expected in September.<\/p>\n On Victoria St, work is ramping up on a three-storey apartment complex with 36 homes \u2013 21 one-bedroom apartments and 15 with three bedrooms.<\/p>\n Rotorua developer Tony Bradley<\/a>, of TBS Residential, is contracted to complete the work and ownership would be transferred to K\u0101inga Ora once finished.<\/p>\n Bradley told the Rotorua Daily Post work was going well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are actually a bit ahead of schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the building would have been further along if it hadn\u2019t been for the wet summer, which particularly impacted outdoor painting.<\/p>\n He said carpet was going into the units now and work on the outsides, including verandas, was being finished.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guys have done a great job, they\u2019ve worked through Christmas and the weekends to get it done to deadline, and it\u2019s going to look good.\u201d<\/p>\n Bradley took over the building<\/a> project in July last year after an Auckland development company, Realm Victoria, went bust.<\/p>\n The company was run by father and son Kerry and Alex Hitchcock. It went into liquidation<\/a> in May, owing Venture Vic St from Tauranga $3.8m for the original site works. <\/p>\n The latest liquidator\u2019s report, from December 5, could not estimate when the process would be completed or if there would be any distribution.<\/p>\n Bradley, who has been developing industrial, residential and commercial sites in Rotorua for decades, did his first deal with K\u0101inga Ora in 2023<\/a> building apartments on Lake Rd and Fairy Springs Rd.<\/p>\n He told the Rotorua Daily Post he was unlikely to do more social housing once Victoria St was finished, as he preferred to go back to his core business.<\/p>\n He did not regret the projects, however, as Rotorua needed them finished to help with the housing shortage.<\/p>\n Grateful for Clayton Rd home<\/p>\n Two weeks ago, Vince Winitana and his family moved into a new four-bedroom home on Clayton Rd after spending five years in emergency housing \u2013 a time he described as \u201chectic\u201d.<\/p>\n Winitana and his partner moved from Whakat\u0101ne to Rotorua last year because his partner was working as a security guard in Rotorua.<\/p>\n He said Rotorua had been home to him previously, but they had spent the past few years in Whakat\u0101ne bouncing from one emergency housing motel to another.<\/p>\n He said it was great that he and his family, including children aged 18, 14 and 10, could now have a stable home.<\/p>\n The Clayton Rd development of 14 homes was finished in February. It has a mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes, in single-level and double-storey duplexes, and standalone houses.<\/p>\n Other developments on the go<\/p>\n According to K\u0101inga Ora\u2019s website, other homes among the 95 being built in Rotorua included 24 on Mansfield Drive, two on Rimu St, three on Mt View Drive and three on Kea St.<\/p>\n The first stage of the Mansfield Drive development delivered 25 homes in June last year.<\/p>\n The next stage of 24 homes will be finished in June this year and include a mix of one to six-bedroom single and double-storey homes.<\/p>\n Two houses are being built by Trade Academy Construction on Rimu St and will be ready later in the year, while the Mt View Drive and Kea St projects will be ready in June.<\/p>\n Along with the projects under construction, a further 14 homes are being planned.<\/p>\n These include three homes on one section on Clinkard Ave and six homes on another section on the same street.<\/p>\n Resource consents are being completed for those projects, which aim to be finished by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n There are also five homes being planned on Miller St, with resource consent also being sought for a planned completion within the year.<\/p>\n Who will live there?<\/p>\n K\u0101inga Ora\u2019s Rawson said the housing agency was looking forward to the Victoria St apartments and other homes being completed so more people can benefit from living in a warm, dry stable home in Rotorua. <\/p>\n For Victoria St, he said it was expected settlement would occur in June and tenants would be able to move in after that.<\/p>\n It was too early to say who exactly will live in the new homes but they will be applicants from the Ministry of Social Development housing register.<\/p>\n The latest register, from September, said there were 642 applicants in Rotorua, down from 759 a year earlier. More than half required a one-bedroom home and just under a quarter needed two bedrooms. <\/p>\n Rotorua MP Todd McClay has previously said K\u0101inga Ora and other government agencies<\/a> had been directed to stop sending people from outside the region to Rotorua social housing, meaning those from Rotorua would get priority.<\/p>\nWhat the new homes on the corner of Malfroy Rd and Ranolf St will look like. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Work in progress on Victoria St, which will soon feature 36 new K\u0101inga Ora homes. Photo \/ Kelly Makiha<\/p>\n
An artist’s impression of what the Victoria St apartments will look like. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
What the new apartments on Victoria St, Rotorua, will look like. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
New K\u0101inga Ora tenant Vince Winitana is thrilled with his wh\u0101nau’s new four-bedroom home on Clayton Rd. Photo \/ Kelly Makiha<\/p>\n
The new K\u0101inga Ora housing complex on Clayton Rd features 14 new homes. Photo \/ Kelly Makiha<\/p>\n