11 affordable rentals for Christchurch

Oxford Terrace Housing Community is more than a housing development. It's a place for neighbours to connect and foster a community together, ensuring people in need get the right support when they need it.

The inner-city east Christchurch development by the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church (OTBC) focuses on providing affordable rental units. Half of the apartments have been allocated to those on the social housing register.

Before development commenced, OTBC had consulted with the community since the 2011 earthquakes. They have held multiple design meetings and forums over four years to ensure the design met community needs for affordable accommodation in the central city.

Pastor Chris Chamberlain of the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church says, "Our church has been interested in social action for a very long time, and housing has been a part of the mix for the church.

There's been a lot of talk about a housing crisis in the news, and we've seen firsthand evidence of that in central Christchurch. We realised that we had an opportunity to participate in helping to fix that issue".

"We worked hard on what it is that we want to create. This had a number of drivers. We wanted to build community, we wanted to invest, we wanted to create a safe space where people can flourish in their living environment," he says.

OTBC already has a proven track record in development with previous successful building projects, including historic housing restoration, youth hall/lounge construction, and social housing unit repairs. They also show a high level of collaboration with community service providers.

The apartments on-site include one fully accessible unit for wheelchair users, two semi-accessible units for elderly or young families, two units for community fostering rentals, two rent-by-room student housing units, and seven family homes with at least four bedrooms, catering to social, refugee, and affordable rentals for families.

Built around a rectangular courtyard are a modern place of worship, a café, offices for a range of NGOs, and the 11 rental apartments where, pre-quake, there was a car park. Within the complex is the office of Visionwest, the community housing provider that looks after the social housing tenancies on behalf of the church and provides wrap-around support.

Bradley Nicholson, General Manager of Kānuka Hopestill Limited, an organisation that supports the church with property management and administration and lives on-site with his young family.

He says he was excited about the mix of people who will call the development home.

"The ability to have the breadth of expression and difference with people with mobility difficulties, refugees, students, and families like my own. And there's been so much thought put into these units regarding how they will be liveable".

While not big, the units have been well thought out during the design process. Solar panels have been added to the roof to help keep tenants' power costs down.

Mr Nicholson says, "The amount of storage in the bedrooms is incredible. It's so easy to live in a mess when you don't have anywhere to put things. And just the functionality of a kitchen where you can cook and still talk to your friends when they're over.

These aren't big units, but they are well thought through, and with a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, knowing that she can play in a backyard and be safe is exciting. I'm looking forward to that balance of the community aspects but with the private spaces".

South Island funder Rātā Foundation partnered with OTBC to complete this project through its $275,000 contribution under its strategic housing pou.

Rātā Chief Executive Leighton Evans says, "The development is a great example of the kind of innovation the community housing sector is capable of, providing not only housing but a sustainable community for tenants in need."

Mr Evans says everyone deserves access to stable, secure, and affordable housing options and that the project directly aligned with Rātā funding priorities to ensure communities in need have equitable access to the facilities, resources, and opportunities that allow them to thrive.

Pastor Chamberlain says the Rātā Foundation's backing was one of the key factors in making this project work.

"When Rātā came to us and said we like what you're doing and we're interested in helping, the timing could not have been better. They turned up and have been nothing but supportive".

The development's final part–the quadrangle's fourth side—is yet to come. The hope is to provide communal spaces and affordable rental apartments designed for elderly residents.