Hundreds of people showed up along with the sun to celebrate the recent completion of Ngāhuripoke – a complex of 85 new homes in Northcote.
Community viewing day visitors grabbed a coffee and enjoyed a sausage sizzle as they waited for a guided tour of the homes which span three buildings and six levels. A face painter was on hand to keep the tamariki entertained.
Representatives from community groups, including Kaipātiki Local Board shared local information in one of the communal rooms and local musician Carl Mose serenaded the crowd with familiar favourites like Under the Boardwalk.
The name Ngāhuripoke, was gifted by one of the local iwi Ngāti Pāoa from the name of a prominent Northcote family. The three buildings, Keremeta, Wiripo and Wiki are all the brothers from the last generation of the whānau to live in the area in the 1950s.
The complex, which replaces nine older homes, is part of the Northcote Development, Large Scale Project. All homes are built to 6 Homestar standards and 17 of the homes have Full Universal Design, meaning they are easily adaptable to a variety of mobility needs.
Project Manager Bruce Tupp was on hand to take people through the new homes and answer any questions.
Speaking to a group touring one of the complex’s 15 three-bedroom apartments, Bruce highlighted the soundproof benefits of the double-glazed doors, shutting out any noise from the busy Lake Rd below.
“The gold standard question I always ask myself when I am working on a project is, ‘would I actually want to live here?’ Well, I can say that I absolutely would.” said Bruce.
Ngāhuripoke offers 40 one-bedroom homes, and 30- two bedrooms, as well as the three bedrooms apartments. There are two communal rooms for residents and 89 parking spaces. A giant tuatara takes pride of place in the complex’s playground area.
The Kāinga Ora area office will relocate from Takapuna to be onsite and other ground floor office spaces will be able to be used for delivering community services.
Customers will begin to move in stages from the end of the month.