First open home provides glimpse of the future at McLennan

22 December 2015

First open home provides glimpse of the future at McLennan

Housing New Zealand and Mike Greer Homes have unveiled the first home to be completed at the Mclennan housing development in Papakura.

The three-bedroom home, one of eleven to have been built by Mike Greer to get the development project underway, has already been sold, with settlement due before the end of the year. Prices for the first eleven homes range from $550 - 799K.

Notwithstanding that 15 per cent of the overall McLennan development will be for social housing tenants, Housing New Zealand’s initial role has been to provide the infrastructure, master planning resource consents and design, timing and pricing covenants for its private market build partners.

Housing New Zealand’s Acting General Manager for Asset Development, Patrick Dougherty, says this approach will have direct benefits for McLennan’s future residents.

“Not only does our approach ensure consistency and quality across the site, we have removed a number of individual build costs that could otherwise be passed on to purchasers.

This enables McLennan homes to be priced at affordable levels, without our builders having to compromise on quality or margin,” says Dougherty.

“This is especially important in allowing us to deliver on our promise of devoting 20 per cent of the development to first home purchasers who meet the Government’s Homestart programme criteria.”

The development will be delivered in stages over a number of years, eventually comprising 550-plus homes across the 24 hectare site. To enhance the sense of community the homes, which through special purchasing clauses will only be available to owner-occupiers, will be clustered in neighbourhoods, linked together by lanes, walkways and pocket parks.

Beyond these first eleven, a further 120 new homes are under contract to be built by a variety of build partners by mid 2016.

“Partnering with a selection of builders doesn’t just help us deliver homes quicker, it enables the subtle variances in design that add visual interest and appeal to the neighbourhood,” says Dougherty.

“With its mix of private, affordable and social housing, we see this project as an exemplar of residential land use, and a model for sustainable development in Auckland.”

ENDS

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