Simon Perry, chair of the Brian Perry Charitable Trust, with Peake Mews neighbour Pete Moore.
Simon Perry, chair of the Brian Perry Charitable Trust, with Peake Mews neighbour Pete Moore.
Bridge Housing, an initiative started by the Brian Perry Charitable Trust, opened on the outskirts of Cambridge last month with $4 million pumped into it by the trust.
In the future there will be 60-70 houses at the Peake Road site developed over four to five phases.
Cambridge architect Antanas Procuta developed the master plan for the development creating community spaces to get the right density.
The secret to the affordable housing model – or Secure Homes as Bridge Housing has termed it – is the mixture of leasehold and freehold land.
Former Waikato Housing Initiative chair Aksel Bech, now out on his own as the Housing Czar, chats to Brian Perry Charitable Trust chair Simon Perry about Peake Mews. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Buyers can opt to lease the land and own the house reducing the cost by as much as half. The model is supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s Progressive Home Ownership fund, which provided a significant interest-free loan to Bridge Housing.
Secure Homes is underpinned by backing from Westpac NZ, the official lender to the houses.
“Peake Mews is an example of what’s possible when affordability, security and community converge. We don’t want to lose momentum and are keen to speak with anyone who has an interest in being part of the solution to this enormous problem,” Perry told The News.
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