Rest home remodel to provide new low-cost accommodation for Ōpōtiki elderly
Trust Horizon has approved a $50,000 grant to help transform a closed retirement facility into 12 new rental units for Ōpōtiki’s elderly community.
The charitable trust, Peria House Limited, operates the accommodation for the elderly bounded by Richard Street and Chatfield Road. Due to changes in DHB funding, the 32-bedroom rest home section of the facility closed its doors in 2017. Today, it’s being given a second life as much-needed accommodation.
“Ōpōtiki desperately needs accommodation for elderly people,” says Peria House Limited Board Member, Gordon Dennis. “These small, one-bedroom units are suitable for older people who want to downsize, who don’t have the ability to purchase a property of their own, or who are seeking affordable housing options in our district.”
The project will see the existing facility remodelled to make way for two 2-bedroom units and 10 1-bedroom units. Approximately 50m2 each, the units will be let to tenants aged 65-plus on a first-come-first-served basis. Demolition has already been completed, and the framing stage of the build is currently in progress. Peria House Limited hopes to have the first six units ready to be let by August.
Funding from Trust Horizon will go towards the installation of electrical wiring, insulation, ovens, cooktops, rangehoods, and water heaters in all 12 of the new rental units. “We are certainly very appreciative of the funding from Trust Horizon,” says Mr. Dennis. “It means we will be able to get the job completed.”
Trust Horizon Trustee and Ōpōtiki local, Kevin Hennessy, says that the Trust is pleased to be able to lend their support to the project. “There’s a chronic shortage of low-cost accommodation for Ōpōtiki’s elderly, and these 12 units will go a long way in helping fill that gap,” says Mr. Hennessy. “Projects like this genuinely improve the lives of the tenants, and we look forward to seeing the benefits unfold in the community.”
Find out more about our funding process for grants here