Cohousing Connect Hub to benefit wider community

ALISTAIR HUGHES

Over the last few years, Golden Bay has been showing the rest of the country how an ambitious cohousing project can evolve from concept to reality.

The Meihana Street site now contains 10 finished and occupied residences, with many others in various stages of construction. Extensive planting surrounds the site, and the shared common house is beginning to take shape, with its natural timber frame to eventually support hempcrete walls. But what Tākaka Cohousing Neighbourhood member Sarrah Jayne is most excited about now is a new development that will eventually benefit the wider community.

The Tākaka Connect Hub will be sited on the corner of

While more homes take shape on the right, completed homes are occupied in the background. Photo: Alistair Hughes.

These apartments are envisaged to be rented out for residency programmes, or sometimes shorter-term arrivals like doctors and other new appointees who usually struggle to find accommodation. “Or someone who wants to share their skills with the community,” adds Sarrah, “and hold workshops on permaculture, or cooking, as a conscious exchange for the opportunity to live here.”

Sarrah explains that someone would be employed to manage the downstairs coworking space, and also the comings and goings of the upstairs apartments. The hub would take the form of the familiar body corporate unit title model, but with quite a different appearance to provide different services to the community. “It’s the first time that we’ve branched out into anything of a commercial nature, and we hope it will be a real asset to the community. Something everyone can get behind and enjoy.”

Tākaka Cohousing project coordinator Simone Woodland had been leading the design of the Connect Hub but will now be stepping back for seven months maternity leave. Vital elements of her role will be taken over by Wellington-based lawyer and property developer, Bronwen Newton. Bronwen brings a wealth of experience with her, having steered various cohousing initiatives in other parts of the country.

“I’ve been trying to make things better for cohousing projects, because it is currently way harder than it has to be. But the more projects we can get up and running, like this one, the more people will understand the benefits.” Bronwen notes that although Tākaka isn't a huge place, our cohousing neighbourhood is a big development, and believes it is really going to change things in a wider sense.

The Tākaka Cohousing team has always placed great emphasis on creating goodwill with the larger community, and they believe this is paying off. The recent open day attracted around 50 visitors, who provided very positive feedback. Less well-received has been necessary changes to the Meihana Street traffic flow, which Sarrah stresses was imposed upon them by the council. But she and Bronwen also point out that it is now very much a residential area, and with the proximity of the school, the cohousing neighbourhood wants the whole community to be safe.

The team look forward to speaking more about the Tākaka Connect Hub and answering the community's questions next Wednesday evening from 5-7pm at the Mohua Social Services Hall.