Kāinga Ora opens $75m Whangārei housing project in the Avenues for 320 residents
Former rough sleeper Jason Poutai, 52, inside his new two-bedroom Kāinga Ora home in Whangārei. Photo / Karina Cooper
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s largest regional social housing development to date is a full-circle moment for former rough sleeper Jason Poutai.
The 52-year-old is one of 320 people who will call the 95 apartments and standalone houses on Kauika Rd in the Avenues, Whangārei, home.
The complex includes 21 one-bedroom apartments, 68 two-bedroom units, and three each of three- and four-bedroom apartments. It is already two-thirds full.
The $75 million project was designed to meet the city’s need for homes of those sizes.
Move-in day for Poutai marked the end of four years living on Whangārei’s streets after a job-ending back injury and a determination to escape an unsafe home.
Ironically, the balcony of Poutai’s new apartment looks out on the empty site where he used to sleep in a tent.
“It feels like I’ve done a full circle,” he said.
“It’s totally different from a tent. I was blown away by the amount of space and privacy.”
And as for the kitchen, “Having a fridge and knowing that I can open the fridge anytime, grab a cold drink or something ... and a place to cook, like an oven. It’s amazing.”
Don’t forget the shower.
“Oh man, the water pressure is just so awesome.”
Poutai said there was nowhere for rough sleepers to take a warm shower in Whangārei except at Open Arms, a day centre for the homeless.
His move from a tent to a home two weeks ago took time to adjust to.
“When I first moved in here, I was sleeping out here,” he said, pointing to the balcony, “because I was so used to being outside.”
It took him a few days to get used to sleeping in a bedroom.
Because of his back injury, he was able to get a new mattress and finally had a good night’s sleep, which he told the Northern Advocate in 2023 was sometimes all he craved.
Poutai, who has been pushing for a night shelter in Whangārei, hopes his story can help others experiencing homelessness to persevere.
“Always stay positive no matter what happens ... keep pushing forward one step at a time. Things can change.”
Also enjoying a new home was 79-year-old Robert “Bob” Puru.
The father of four had been living with a nephew in Whangārei since returning to his hometown last year after more than half a century in Australia.
He and his wife Tina sold their Sydney home early in the pandemic as his taxi driver’s job stalled. That was the last time he had his own place.
When the Northern Advocate spoke to Puru yesterday, he had 99 boxes on the way to his and Tina’s new Kāinga Ora home on Kauika Rd.
He appreciated the accessibility of his home, having lost his leg as a 10-year-old in a horse-related accident in which a chain wrapped around the limb and, as he put it, “whipped” it off. He spent three years in three hospitals.
His new home has a parking spot out front, and his garden is easy to reach.
Fourteen ground-floor homes at the complex have been designed for people with physical disabilities or mobility issues.
The kūmara, daisies and banana tree planted in Puru’s garden are already flourishing, despite his insisting he doesn’t have much of a green thumb.
He praised his neighbours, a lot of whom were raising children on their own.
“We share food. If I make boil-up, I give them some, or my nephew is a baker and he gives me loaves of bread. I take one and give them the others. They do the same for me.”
Kāinga Ora Northland director Jeff Murray said many residents moving in had been homeless and staying in emergency or transitional housing.
“We have about 650 households in the Whangārei district on the housing waitlist. And 510 of them are looking for either one- or two-bedroom homes.”
The complex has a community centre, communal garden and children’s play area, which Murray said encouraged “a great community within the community”.
The location close to jobs and services was important.
“Having people living close to jobs and services is a wee bit like giving them a pay rise because they can access things at relatively low cost,” Murray said.
There had been little community feedback about the development, he said, but Kāinga Ora had spoken directly to people with concerns, some of which were around privacy.
Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper said the development reflected changing household trends, with more people seeking smaller, low-maintenance homes.
He said medium-density housing helped to meet that demand while making better use of existing land and infrastructure, and was critical to supporting the region’s growth.
Phoenix Properties designed the complex, with director Travis Coffey saying a project of its size and style was “groundbreaking” for the area.
Loveridge Builders built the complex over three years, with up to 120 tradespeople on site at its peak.
More than 300 new state homes have been built in Whangārei in the past three years, with a further 59 either contracted or under construction.
About 40 Kāinga Ora housing projects around Northland were axed last year after a major reset at the agency. Most were in Whangārei, although four projects were continuing in the district, as was a six-home project in Kaitāia.