Otaki TodayStanley Curtis is a happy man – he’s back at the Ōtaki he loves and in a brand spanking new home.
He’s one of the tenants who’s been able to live in the seven new Kāinga Ora houses that have so far been built in Ōtaki. His is one of three on the corner of Mill Road and Dunstan Street. The other four are at the southern end of Matene Street.
With Stanley Curtis (second left) are, from left: Kāinga Ora senior communications advisor Fiona Lewis; project manager, construction and innovation, Daniel Eason; and senior housing support manager Kelly Giles.
Photo Ōtaki Today
Another 14 homes are in the pipeline: six will be tenanted soon at the northern end of Matene Street, six are in Kirk Street and two more in Tōtara Street.
When Stanley (Ngāti Hine) arrived back in Ōtaki earlier this year, it was a homecoming of sorts. Although brought up in the small Northland town of Ōtiria, he was in a relationship with Ōtaki woman Anita Rikihana-Barriball and came to Ōtaki to live.
He stayed on in a Kāinga Ora house in Aotaki Street after Anita died six years ago, but the site is earmarked for possible redevelopment. He was provided with another house in Paraparaumu.
It was a wrench for him, but it was tempered by a Kāinga Ora commitment to allow him to return when a new home was available.
That happened in February this year, with Stanley more than happy to be in a brand new home – and knowing the land was once part of the Rikihana whānau’s ancestral block that ran from Dunstan Street west to the township.
“I’m very happy to come back,” he says.
“I’m used to it [in Ōtaki] and there are good people here. It’s not far to the shops and close to all the things I need. It’s a beautiful home – I’m proud to have a home like this.”
Now retired, Stanley has worked as a freezing worker, but spent most of his life driving long-haul trucks out of Auckland and working as a courier.
His home is one of the two 2-bedroom stand-alone houses on a property most recently occupied by Ray White real estate. Another is a 3-bedroom home.
The section at 22-26 Kirk Street will have five 3-bedroom and one 4-bedroom houses; 5-9 Matene Street will have three 2-bedroom homes and three with 3 bedrooms; and at 12 Tōtara Steet, there will be one 2-bedroom and one 1-bedroom home.
All new Kāinga Ora houses meet Healthy Homes standards, and include double glazing, a heat pump full insulation, adequate ventilation and moisture control.
The homes are all constructed from a modular house pack fabricated in Upper Hutt by EasyBuild. The “flat packs” are then transported to Ōtaki for installation and connection to services. Once in place, Kāinga Ora building contractors add a deck, timber fencing and landscaping for good outdoor living.
“For these specific projects we were able to resource local labour and contracting for services such as landscaping,” says Kāinga Ora project manager Daniel Eason.
“These single-storey homes, which vary in size from one to four bedrooms, are not your traditional build – we have included the use of sustainable products, as well as smart design to make the homes look and feel more spacious.”
As of March 2024, there were 171 people in the Kāpiti Coast district on the Housing Register of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) waiting for homes. Kāinga Ora uses the register to prioritise those who go to new homes.
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