Ministry won’t reconsider affordable housing bid

Wednesday, 10 April 2024

Central government says it won’t reconsider its decision not to fund an affordable housing development in central Hamilton as all $100million of the scheme has been allocated.

Bridge Housing Trust’s plans to build a 42 apartment complex on the corner of Tristram and Liverpool Streets in Hamilton central were left under a cloud of funding uncertainty after its application to the Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD)’s affordable housing scheme was denied.

Under the nationwide initiative, housing providers commit to charging no more than 80% of median rent. In return MHUD pays half the cost of the build.

A spokesperson for the ministry said eight of 31 proposals received in round two of the Affordable Rental Pathway (ARP) didn’t go forward, “primarily because of oversubscription of the ARP”.

“The Bridge Trust’s proposal scored well against common ranking criteria, but others were scored higher. Scale was one of the ranking criteria, but this factor only accounted for 5 percent of overall scoring,” the spokesperson said.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop made the final decision, agreeing with MHUD’s recommendation not to fund the Bridge Housing Trust’s application, they said.

“As we advised the Bridge Trust in February of this year, their proposal was unfortunately not selected to be funded and with the fund itself now fully allocated, we are not able to reconsider that decision.

“The Ministry has considered whether there are other ways we could help progress the Hinemoa Apartments development, but unfortunately there is no suitable alternative funding source currently available.”

The trust’s general manager Jennifer Palmer previously told the Waikato Times they were disappointed by the decision but remained committed to delivering an affordable housing development, made up of one to bedroom units, at the site.

However, they were unsure exactly what shape the development would now take and were working to confirm additional funding.

“We have always sort of been keen to do some sort of affordable housing. I think it's really important to have that in the CBD.

You know, we have a great location here, we're walkable to virtually all the amenities in the city and there's a big demand, particularly when it comes to the smaller homes, one and two bedrooms in the city centre - there’s very, very little supply.

“So we thought, right, well, we can do something here.”

Hamilton City Council has ringfenced $10million under its Muncipial Endowment Fund (MEF) in light of the ministry’s decision, giving Bridge Housing a six month extension to secure the additional funding needed to get the development underway.

The MEF is an investment fund intended to provide ongoing returns to Hamilton residents. It sits outside the Long Term Plan and doesn’t impact rates.