Haumaru - Housing for older people

Designed for older people, these apartments are providing tenants with warm, dry homes and the building blocks for a safe, supportive community.

The village adopts a new style of living for older residents. An internal atrium and generous corridors on each floor encourage social connection between those who live in the village. The building is also designed to be energy efficient and easy to maintain.

The 40 apartments were completed in November 2019 on a vacant 3000sqm site at 21-33 Henderson Valley Road, next to Henderson High School. We identified the site, previously known as Wilsher Village, as a suitable location for social housing for older tenants. We also developed design standards to meet their needs, working with The Selwyn Foundation, Age Concern New Zealand, mana whenua, tenant reference groups and the Henderson-Massey Local Board.

Haumaru Housing is managing the new village (Haumaru is a limited partnership between Auckland Council and The Selwyn Foundation).

This new building provides 40 homes for singles or couples, each having their own one-bedroom, self-contained apartment with a floor area of 45sqm plus a terrace.

It is designed with the lifestyle necessities of older people in mind:

• Extra-wide hallways and lift access help people on mobility scooters or wheelchairs get around easier
• Windows at each door along the corridor allow people to look in and check to see if their neighbours are okay
• Bathrooms are a fully accessible wet room
• Even the placement of the oven doors, which open like a cupboard (not the usual way by pulling the door down), are easier to use.

Key statistics:

• The number of older Aucklanders is expected to double in the next 15 years. It’s part of our job to help provide housing of a high standard to cater for this ageing population.
• The new village will increase Auckland Council’s tally of homes for older people to 1452, and villages to 63.

Timeline to tenancy:

• Resource consent granted 10 August 2017.
• Building of apartments started late August 2018.
• Completion November 2019.
• First tenants moved in over the Christmas/New Year period 2019/2020.

Back in 2016, Eke Panuku found a community housing provider on behalf of Auckland Council to help manage and redevelop council’s portfolio of homes for older people, helping address the needs of older people, both in location and quality.

The resulting partnership between council and the Selwyn Foundation, called Haumaru Housing, supports the management of the portfolio of rental units for older people, as well as the redevelopment of older homes in in the portfolio. Further opportunities for redevelopment are being investigated. 

For more information about Haumaru Housing, please visit their website here.