The site of a once-ambitious public housing development in Wellington promising homes for 900 families continues to sit empty despite $48 million being spent on “preparing the land” for the now-paused project. 

Kāinga Ora hit pause on a number of housing projects across the country after a scathing report revealed it was looking to record a $700 million annual deficit in 2026/27. 

Construction on the Arlington development was due to be completed between 2023 and 2025, but its future is now uncertain, with nothing built except metal foundations in the ground. 

Kāinga Ora confirmed it’s spent $48m as at June this year on “design costs, demolition of existing homes, site decontamination, site enablement works, service connections, and piled foundations for one of the approved buildings”. 

The Mt Cook land, owned by Wellington City Council, previously boasted a 1970s-era high-rise apartment building and other public housing units, before demolitions took place in 2020 to make way for the new development. 

In early 2022, the Labour government of the time celebrated $296m of public housing funding being directed toward the project to construct around 300 new homes, as well as a playground, community gardens, and an orchard. 

“The 1.7,000sq m site is Kāinga Ora’s largest in the country and will consist of 16 buildings, ranging from town houses through to six-storey light-engineered timber apartment blocks,” a press release from then-Housing Minister Megan Woods said at the time. 

An architectural mock-up of the previous Arlington design. Photo / Stapleton Elliott 

In November last year, Kāinga Ora announced it would have to “take another look at costs and plans” due to “significant cost escalation”. 

It said it was reworking how the development might look to ensure it was getting good value for money. 

A new design is yet to be announced. 

Kāinga Ora spokesperson Daniel Soughtton said they “expect work will recommence on-site once we have finalised our plans and worked through the resource consenting requirements”. 

“We are unable to put a timeline on when that will be at this stage,” he said. 

Peter Cooke of Mt Cook Mobilise, the local residents’ association, told the Herald locals are “annoyed” nothing has been built on the site yet and are keen to see it actually go ahead. 

“We want to see it started and finished, so it is slightly frustrating that it has ceased.” 

Cooke said the community had previously been well-informed by Kāinga Ora on the progress of the development through frequent community reference group meetings, but since the project was paused, communication has stopped and he would like the meetings to recommence. 

Cooke said the site is an asset to the community and the removal of the previous housing facility has left a deficit of public housing in the area. 

“They’ve invested in the site, and therefore they just need to keep on going” he said. 

Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge said it’s unclear whether Kāinga Ora are still committed to the development despite the need for more housing only growing. 

“The need is the highest it’s ever been,” he said. 

Edridge said he’s “not sure where Arlington is at” but believes given the urgent need for public housing in the capital, something needs to be done. 

“I don’t think you can leave the site unutilised. That would be criminal. 

“It is a fabulous site - it’s a very significant and strategic site for Wellington, so it would be a real shame if we didn’t see housing development happening there.” 

Regarding the $48m cost, Edridge said there is “not a lot of visible evidence of the investment that’s been made to date”. 

The Arlington development site, which covers 1.77 hectares. Photo / Mark Mitchell. 

Edridge pointed to the City Mission’s Whakamaru transitional housing and community hub, which will soon open in Mt Cook, as an example of where the money could be better spent. 

He said Whakamaru, which will include 35 residential apartments, a social supermarket, cafe, laundry facilities, a medical centre and a chapel, will cost a similar amount to that of the investment made in the Arlington site so far. 

“As a comparative, you can actually build quite a lot of stuff for $48m dollars,” he said. 

Wellington Central MP and Green Party housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul told the Herald she is “deeply disappointed” no progress has been made. 

Paul fears Kāinga Ora could pull the plug on the development completely to meet the Government’s financial expectations for the agency. 

“If they abandon the project now, it is a complete waste of money, but most of all, it’s a complete waste of potential, because that site is perfect for public housing. 

“If you look at it, the steel frames are already there on that site, and so the smartest thing to do would be to continue to build those houses because it’s going to provide so much value to our city,” Paul said. 

She said there are 2800 people on the wait list for public housing in Wellington alone, and there is a “strongly held expectation within the community” that the Arlington development will go ahead. 

When Kāinga Ora announced in November 2023 that the development would be re-worked, it said a new resource consent application would be filed in early 2024. 

A Wellington City Council spokesperson confirmed the council has not received a new consent application for development. 

When asked about the future of the development, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said in a statement that “following the independent review into Kāinga Ora, the Government has put in place a new board and asked for a turnaround plan for the organisation, focused on cutting costs and driving efficiency”. 

“Arlington will be considered in due course in that context,” Bishop said. 

Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in politics, local issues and the public service. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at [email protected] or messaged on X (formerly Twitter) via the handle @ethanjmanera.