A key part of Council’s strategy for revitalising Nelson is providing more opportunities for people to live in the inner city. I was delighted on Monday to announce with the Nelson Cathedral parish a new inner-city townhouse development on the corner of Nile and Collingwood streets, opposite the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts.
The five luxury townhouses are being designed by renown Irving Smith Architects and built by award-winning Scott Construction. The two-storey homes each have a double garage, three bedrooms with ensuites and a large sunny patio. The project has a bonus in that some of the proceeds are to be used to help fund the Nelson Cathedral earthquake strengthening project.
This inner-city housing project adds to six others completed – or announced publicly – in the past year. Together, they will provide 197 new homes in central Nelson.
On the eastern side of the city, there is the Home in Place development at 64 Nile Street, opened last December, providing 38 homes and the Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities development at 107 Nile Street, opened in July, providing a further 16. There are also 27 homes under construction for The Salvation Army on the corner of Milton and Cambria streets.
On the western side, there is under construction the Habitat for Humanity complex on the corner of Rutherford and Examiner streets that will provide 18 homes. Another 39-unit development is being built on the other side of Rutherford Street, next to Houston Motors, for The Salvation Army. The Safari Group eight-storey complex, enabled by the Bridge to Better project, on the former bus depot site will provide 54 apartments as well as 54 hotel rooms.
This boom in inner-city housing changes the shape and character of our city for the better. I welcome the mix of new luxury, affordable and social housing. I prefer a city that is not stratified by class, but where people of different means interact and care for one another.
Council’s upgrade of infrastructure and changes to planning rules to facilitate new inner-city housing comes with controversy but the dividend is a more vibrant and liveable city.
