Four housing developments in Tauranga will be the first delivered by a $100 million fund.
The Bay of Plenty Housing Equity Fund launched in 2024, aiming to provide affordable and sustainable housing for people in need.
Chairman Alastair Rhodes said the fund was enabling the building of 65 homes in Tauranga South, Pāpāmoa, Greerton and Bethlehem.
“These are the types of homes that aren’t getting built through the market or government programmes alone.
“Our role is to help unlock these projects and de-risk them, so they can move from idea to reality. The housing need here is huge, and we’re seeing how this collaborative approach can really make a difference,” said Rhodes, who is also the BayTrust chief executive.
In 2024, Tauranga had one of the highest house price-to-income ratios in New Zealand.
The cost of a house was 7.9 times more than the average household income, compared with 6.8 nationally, according to Infometrics data.
A 2022 Veros report showed Tauranga was short of 5300 homes.
The fund had six founding shareholders, including Tauranga City Council, which committed $20m. Its investment can only be used for Tauranga projects.
The council’s funds came from the sale of most of its elder housing to Kāinga Ora, and its Pitau Rd elder village to private developer Sanderson.
Bay of Plenty Housing Equity Fund chairman Alastair Rhodes.
Other fund shareholders include BayTrust and TECT Community Trust, which invested $10m each. Whakatāne-based Trust Horizon and the Rotorua Trust put in $5m each, and New Zealand Green Investment Finance invested $10m.
Twenty one-bedroom apartments will be built on Devonport Rd near 15th Ave, in Tauranga South, for seniors and people with disabilities.
The $10m development would be a joint venture between the fund and community housing provider Tauranga Community Housing Trust.
The tenants would be over 55 and/or with chronic health conditions or disabilities, and on fixed incomes.
The housing trust would manage the homes and provide tenancy support and wellbeing services.
Construction would begin in July, with completion expected in August next year.
Bay of Plenty Housing Equity Fund manager Roy Thompson.
Fund manager Roy Thompson said 53% of people on Tauranga’s housing register wanted one-bedroom homes, but 1.2% of the private rental market offered them.
“This project responds directly to the deepest unmet need in Tauranga.”
In Pāpāmoa, the fund would buy 15 one and two-bedroom units for $8m in a new 36-unit development from Archispace on Beachwater Drive.
The project was likely to be finished at the end of next year.
These would be for seniors on low fixed incomes, and Tauranga Community Housing Trust would also provide tenancy and wellbeing services.
Tauranga Community Housing Trust chief executive Jacqui Ryan said the projects would not be happening without the fund’s investment.
“Through this collaboration, we can deliver safe, secure, affordable homes for older people and people with disabilities — designed to support wellbeing, ageing in place, and community connection.”
The fund will provide a $3.5m development loan and underwrite for eight two-bedroom homes on Fraser St, close to Waimapu St, in Greerton.
Managed by Veros, the project was designed as build-to-sell. The underwrite gave the fund the option to retain units for affordable rental or progressive home ownership if they failed to sell.
The homes were planned for completion in April next year.
Smiths Farm near Bethlehem will become a housing development with around 300 homes. Photo / John Borren
A longer-term project was the $13.1m purchase of 21 homes at Smiths Farm in Bethlehem.
Venture Developments bought the land for $34m from Tauranga City Council in 2024. It is expected the first of the 345 homes will be available in 2028.
The fund’s two and four-bedroom homes would be for households with low to moderate income, and people on the social housing register.
The fund planned to partner with iwi, community housing providers and social services to deliver a wraparound housing model at Smiths Farm.
Rhodes said: “These early projects show that, with the right partnerships, we can get more of the right kind of housing built and create lasting benefits for the community.
“We’re building momentum and looking to scale this model across the region.”
Discover more
The fund had committed to a further five projects around the region and would announce the details soon, Rhodes said.
When the fund decided on which projects to invest in, it looked at impacts the project would have on the community, he said.
It looked at how it aligned with supply, affordability, wellbeing and sustainability, whether it would provide a financial return and whether the risk was acceptable.
The business case for projects went through an investment committee and founding shareholders to check the community impact, then the fund’s board, Rhodes said.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
