A $2.1 m housing initiative led by Marlborough’s Sustainable Housing Trust has won a merit recognition in awards dominated by projects undertaken by developers many times its size.

The trust’s three 4 double bedroom homes on Hutcheson St were recognised in the Property Council’s annual awards for features including Lifemark 5 ratings for people with disabilities and Homestar 7 ratings which saw photo-voltaic panels and highly efficient heating to reduce power bills. Each home has a big kitchen/dining/living area, a garden and two bathrooms. They were tenanted late last year by low-income families.

Trust chair David Taylor says the Property Council award was an extraordinary achievement for an organisation with no staff and limited financial resources.

The Hutcheson St development was an entry in the category for Community and Affordable Housing won by Kainga Ora for a 20-home multi-level Christchurch project.

“We were only able to build our beautiful homes with huge support including from the Rātā Foundation, which provided cornerstone funding, the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development, and Mike Greer Homes which did a superb building job.”

He acknowledged the trust’s founding chair Dr Bev James who stood down in February after 15 years of work, culminating in the Hutcheson St project. “This is very prestigious recognition of what has been achieved by our Trust on a tiny balance sheet and modest income,” says David Taylor. “The development was also the foundation for our next project which will deliver five affordable rentals for our community in September. “

He says the Trust is also focused delivering more affordable homes for those in need in the Blenheim area and is keen to talk to anyone with land or capital available to help achieve its goals.

The Property Council awards showcase outstanding projects, developments and refurbishments from design to completion. Creating value for owners, tenants and the wider community was one of the criteria.