The Government's push for Special Housing Areas to ease Auckland's affordability crisis could see many of the target tenants left out in the cold.
The McLennan Park project by Housing New Zealand is home to a 600-site development, but the number of social and state houses supposed to be built there is not guaranteed.
The affordability cap on many more of the homes is now at more than $500,000, and the Government is set to make a healthy profit out of being the property developer.
After a decade of sitting empty, work is finally underway at McLennan Park – a large tract of land owned by Housing New Zealand.
McLennan is one of the Government's Special Housing Areas, but this solution is nothing new. Housing New Zealand bought the site next to the Army's SAS base back in 2004.
It paid just over $10 million, and McLennan Park is now worth more than double that.
It was also supposed to be an opportunity to provide government housing.
When plans for the farmland were redesigned in 2012, 180 of the 600 houses were to be social and state housing.
That is now just 90 houses, and it may turn out to be even less.
Another 20 percent of the houses will be priced to HomeStart grants, which is $550,000.
McLennan Park is being pitched as the solution to Auckland's affordability – for those who can pay.
3 News
source: newshub archive
