New public housing units craned onto a Sandringham site have shocked locals who said the places looked more like shipping containers than residences. 

The six new apartments in two blocks, each of three levels, are at 15 Kingsway Ave and locals said they were amazed that it took only a day for them to be craned into place. 

But many are scathing too: “We’re starting to look like ghetto cities that we see in other countries,” said one. 

Locals were taken aback that it took only a day to get these prefabricated units from China onto the site at 15 Kingsway Ave in Sandringham in just a day this month. Photo / Jason Oxenham 

“Containers seem to be the new norm for Kāinga Ora,” said another. “They look like those storage containers put on top of each other,” said one. 

“These stick out and not in a good way,” said another in a social media group, reflecting Rotorua people’s views. 

Prefabricated housing business Ecotech imported the units from China, describing themselves as “a next generation construction company that is turning traditional building on its head, delivering architectural quality buildings faster and more affordably than ever before”. 

Neighbours said the buildings only arrived on the weekend but they were surprised at the appearance in a street which is mainly older wooden Californian-style bungalows with some brick and tile single-level units. 

But Patrick Dougherty, Kāinga Ora’s general manager of construction and innovation, defended the result, saying the Crown entity was developing its land using offsite manufacturing. 

Buying the units from China for that Sandringham site had cost savings, he indicated. 

Balconies are yet to be installed in front of these sliding glass doors facing the street t 15 Kingsway Ave, Sandringham. Photo / Jason Oxenham 

“This construction method is not new to Kāinga Ora and we work with both New Zealand-based suppliers and established offshore manufacturing facilities to deliver homes. 

“Developments using off-site manufacturing require local workforces for site works, consultants, tradespeople and construction professionals. All OSM modular units are built in accordance with approved building consent plans and are compliant with all NZ standards,” he said. 

Such methods can reduce material waste and construction time, providing quality, warm homes at a faster pace than traditional builds. 

State housing agency Kāinga Ora showed plans for the two blocks of apartments at 15 Kingsway Ave, Sandringham. Photo / Kāinga Ora 

“The finished design of this particular development was reviewed by our independent expert design panel, and is used in many of our medium-density developments throughout Aotearoa. The six two-bedroom apartments will provide warm, dry, modern homes for individuals and whānau in the area,” Dougherty said. 

Tony Frost of Ecotech Construction and Civil said the units were certainly not shipping containers but he refused to say how much the business was selling each apartment to Kāinga Ora for, saying that was commercially sensitive. 

“These are definitely not containers or modified containers. We just use the container corner castings for safe transportation of the modules and structural connections on site. The modules are designed for ease of assembly on sites in all location in New Zealand. When the balconies and facades are added, they look very good,” Frost said. 

Apartments have bathrooms, kitchens, a fridge, window dressings and laundries, Ecotech said. Photo / Jason Oxenham 

Apartments have bathrooms, kitchens, a fridge, window dressings and laundries, he said. 

Ecotech says swapping traditional wood framing for an ultra-strong structural steel chassis means the multi-pod modules can stack up to seven levels high. Projects can be completed two to three times faster but at 40 per cent less cost with no compromise on quality. 

Maxion Civil is the site contractor on the Sandringham site. 

On January 12, Kāinga Ora wrote to neighbours, warning of rock breaking, excavation, filling, compacting and concrete cutting. Noise and vibration would be monitored and minimised to reduce the effects on surrounding neighbours who were given contact details for project manager Holden Xie of Maxion. 

Work at the new Kāinga Ora units at 15 Kingsway Ave, Sandringham. Photo / Jason Oxenham 

Ecotech homes are also up at Nugget Ave, Hobsonville Point. Developer Tony Houston also got places from Tony Frost’s business via China. 

Building more standardised homes in China and shipping them here in only two to three weeks, with another month of on-site works, is his answer to unaffordability, Houston indicated three years ago. 

The Herald previously reported Frost saying Ecotech had exclusive New Zealand rights for Yahgee international products which he was then selling for Houston’s Hobsonville Point development. 

“But don’t call them container homes. They’re not, they’re bigger than containers for a start,” said Houston. At the time, 23 Nugget Ave was for sale for just over $800,000. 

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.