‘Totally screwed over people’: Spending on empty Arlington site hits $50m

Tuesday, 22 July 2025

Kāinga Ora’s Arlington development in the central Wellington suburb of Mount Cook has broken the $50m mark with not much more than rusting foundations to show for it.

Spending on Kāinga Ora’s Arlington site in central Wellington has cracked the $50 million mark after a year of no apparent action but between $500,000 and $2 million spent on it.

In response to Parliamentary written questions from Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said $48m had been spent on the Arlington development by June last year. This had increased to $50.2m a year later.

But in response to questions, Kāinga Ora said the $2.2m spend was due to rounding and the real one-year spend was $1.9m. Deputy central chief executive Daniel Soughtton said the updated figure also included $1.4m in “internal cost allocations” such as staff.

Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul: “They have totally screwed over people waiting for homes.”

The remaining $500,000 was for civil engineering in the previous year but paid in the past year, he said.

The original Mount Cook complex, including a 10-storey tower block, was demolished in 2020, with the first of 300 homes for its replacement scheduled for completion by 2023. Work was done on new foundations then stopped. Now just their rust-coasted remains peek from the earth behind high fences. The development has been put on pause by the National-led government.

Paul wasn’’t buying Kāinga Ora’s rationale for the $2.2m. That money could have easily paid for homes, she said.

Pukehīnau/Lambton councillor Iona Pannett: “We need to get going.”

“I want to know who is being paid the big bucks from the public purse while the site has sat empty and no direction has been given,” she said.

“They have totally screwed over people waiting for homes, the community, and the companies engaged to work on the original proposal.”

The Ministry of Social Development in March had 643 people on the social housing waiting list. That is the lowest number since March 2020.

Wellington City councillor Rebecca Matthews – whose focus on council has been housing – said there were not enough funded places for social housing in Wellington.

“People will also know what they see every day – I doorknocked a street in Ngaio on Saturday where people are sleeping in their cars. Even if they are not currently on a list they need housing and the government response is woefully inadequate.”

Bishop was approached for comment but his office said his previous statements still stood.

In March the housing minister said it was actually the Labour-Greens government that paused the build in October 2023, after tenders came back “significantly higher” than the $296m budget.

“I expect a briefing from Kāinga Ora soon, detailing the options for the site. Clearly there is a need for new housing in Wellington. I have encouraged Kāinga Ora to explore different options for use of the site, including with other developers.” His office was asked to clarify whether that briefing happened.

Pukehīnau/Lambton ward councillor Geordie Rogers said the Arlington site was a “waste of a fantastic opportunity”.

“We have a wait list over 600 homes long and the government is sitting on a site in the perfect spot that could halve the wait list overnight,” he said.

Ward councillor Iona Pannett said, with people sleeping on the streets and a waiting list of people who needed and deserved social housing, “we need to get going with that building”.