76 | Townhouse project sets benchmark The 20 town-houses are a sprinkling of two and three bedroom options with off-street parking options. Urban Plus: Brook St Housing development DEVELOPMENT T T Sue Russell In July 2007, Hutt City Council established Urban Plus Ltd (UPL), a Council Controlled Organisation, with the intention to support delivery of affordable housing, rental accommodation and to ensure the Council’s goals of enabing Lower Hutt housing to flourish for the benefit of all, would be realised. The focus has very much been on social and public housing and today, UPL owns and manages a rental portfolio of almost 200 units throughout Lower Hutt for low income elderly. Project and Support Manager, Alicia Brouwer and Development Manager Alastair Meehan are each relatively new into the organisation, both seeking the opportunity to work in a space where real gains can be made to create warm, affordable and safe housing for generations to come. “Over the past few years the organisation has been through an organic broadening of its focus as the housing market and demands have changed. Now our development aspirations lie in two directions” Alastair explains. First UPL partners with Community Housing Providers (CHP’s) to develop residential sites for them to purchase and operate. Secondly, they also develop affordable homes for market release, targeting sales to first home buyers and owner occupiers. The work undertaken by UPL is guided by an annual Statement of Intent to meet and deliver its Shareholder’s (Hutt City Council) housing aspirations. This is the Council’s expression of what it hopes the organisation to achieve, for the greater good of the Lower Hutt community. In her role Alicia works with the Chief Executive (Daniel Moriarty) and Board of Directors, administering UPL, She forms the link between project delivery, management and governance. It’s a role she is enjoying. “We have a number of developments at various stages, including the Brook Street housing development which is well underway. This is a project we are undertaking ourselves for market release” Alicia says. By late November, the civil construction stage for the 20 townhouse project was completed, with the construction of the homes now also well underway. This multi-unit, medium density housing project sets a high benchmark as to what can be achieved on site, in terms of design and materials chosen. Located in the busy suburb of Waterloo, Brook Street is close to schools, pubic transport, the Hutt City central business district and town amenities, so its position is perfect for the families that will soon call it home. “All homes are being built to the New Zealand Green Building Council’s Homestar-6 rating, where home comfort elements and energy performance are measured against the Homestar standards. To us, this reflects a commitment towards a more sustainable way of building, and should provide future owners with both greater comfort and financial savings” Alastair says. The 20 town-houses are a sprinkling of two and three bedroom options with off-street parking options. These have been carefully interspersed to give balance and a sense of visual appeal. Made up of six distinct blocks, yet placed in a manner that they become a community, with a shared central space, Alastair says, the townhouse design and the layout of the whole site really works well. “A lot of careful thought was given into balancing a collection of individual homes, where owners have their own outdoor space, with a sense of a small village around a central open space.” Alicia has been involved in creating the marketing information, the website for prospective buyers to gain a feel for what Brook Street will become. “A huge effort goes into the front end and acquiring the site and to get the design, look and feel just right,” Alastair explains. “We’re confident this will shine through to prospective purchasers when we release them for sale in early 2024”. Pricing begins at $650,000 very much within reach of the first-home buyer, which was the intent of the project. He says one of the things that is so satisfying about working on a project such as Brook Street is seeing all the detail and planning come to fruition. “We have a reasonable pipeline of projects coming up that we’re really excited to deliver on. Lower Hutt is going through an exciting process of urban regeneration as the Council’s aspiration for more people to live close to established town centres is coming to fruition, and we’re looking forward to being a continued part of the city’s regeneration moving forwards.” Expect to see more housing projects, developed by Urban Plus as old sites are redeveloped, welcoming new home owners into the heart-beat of the city. &
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