Auckland, 23 June 2023: An innovative Christchurch housing development focused on quality, sustainability and community has taken top affordable housing honours at the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards.
The Residences at Karamū, has been awarded Excellence and Best in Category in the Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities Community and Affordable Housing Property Award at the ceremony held at Spark Arena this evening.
A mixed and blind tenure residential development in Riccarton, The Residences at Karamū has been delivered by Kāinga Maha and built by Home. It offers an attractive range of 84 two and three-bedroom homes, designed and built to provide affordable houses for first-home buyers and community housing tenants.
Built in partnership by Ngāi Tahu Property, the developer behind the popular Wigram Skies and one of the largest property developers in the South Island with a range of successful residential and commercial developments, these homes are thoughtful in design.
The Residences at Karamū are built to 6 and 7 Homestar across five distinct typologies. The quality and aesthetics of the development are equal, ensuring a healthy and well-appointed home for all residents, irrespective of tenure.
With a clear vision from the outset, developer and owner Kāinga Maha partnered with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ngāi Tahu Property, the Christchurch Methodist Mission and Emerge Aotearoa, enabling them to fast track the development over the last five years – ensuring it was delivered through the pandemic on time and on budget. A strong relationship with the builder, who really bought into the vision for the Residences at Karamū, was another factor in the successful delivery of the project.
The Residences at Karamū is a mixed-tenure development with a limit on investor purchase, in order to prioritise first-home buyers and Community Housing Providers. All houses have been delivered within the Affordable Housing Cap, giving this Canterbury community a much-needed affordable development.
Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman said, “housing in New Zealand is in crisis. But this project proves that a developer that is passionate about their purpose, and who works in partnership with key organisations can truly make a difference to those in need. The result is a sophisticated, scalable model that will continue to evolve and serve its community over time.”
The majority of houses have been sold to a mix of first-home buyers, homeowners, and a small portion to landlords, while approximately a third of the homes are owned by charitable trust Home Foundation and leased to two community housing providers, Christchurch Methodist Mission and Emerge Aotearoa.
Since completion, Home Foundation has invested additional resources into running placemaking activities and events for all residents and neighbours of the development and wider subdivision.
The Property Industry Awards, now in their 24th year, celebrate and showcase superior examples of iconic projects in property development and investment across a broad range of sectors and design disciplines, recognising outstanding projects, developments and refurbishments.
Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities Community and Affordable Housing Property Award
Excellence and Best in Category: The Residences at Karamū, Christchurch
- Submitted by Kāinga Maha
- Owner/developer/project manager: Kāinga Maha
- Construction/quantity surveyor: Home Construction Ltd
- Architect: Foley Group Architecture
- Service engineer: Bonisch
- Structural engineer: Blueprint
- Mechanical engineer: Moisture Master
- Quantity surveyor: Home Construction Ltd
- Other consultants: Planner Consultant – PlanCreative Limited (formerly Urbis Ltd) and Urban Design – DCM Urban
Excellence
- Martin Avenue, Leone Terrace and Margaret Avenue, Auckland
Merit
- Brewer Street, Blenheim
- Kauri Street and Kauri Place, Hastings
- SELO Development, Glen Eden, Auckland
- Sudeley Street, Orakei, Auckland
- Tīmata Lane, Auckland
ENDS