STATE HOUSES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22639, 29 January 1937, Page 8

STATE HOUSES

AREA IN PONSONBY CASEY BLOCK BOUGHT TOTAL PRICE £17,000 SECTIONS AT £l4O EACH Purchase by the Government of the Casey Estate of some 17J acres at Ponsonby at a cost of about £17,000 for housing was announced by the Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, in Wellington, yesterday. The area is on the Richmond Road, is roaded, and is the largest vacant block close to the city. Mr. Savage said it was intended to slightly redesign a proposed sub-division so as to increase the size of the sections, but there would be at least 120 sections available which would work out at £llO a section. The Auckland City Council had examined a very large number of properties and had said that, in its opinion, the Casey Estate, at the price at which it was available, made it the most suitable for a housing scheme. The council had acquired an option over the land, which it had not exercised, but had been pleased to leave the matter to the Government.

Saving by the State Comment was made by Mr. Savage that the price being paid was another evidence of the capacity of the Government to buy building sections at a figure which showed extraordinary savings over the cost of simUar sections purchased a few years ago. In all probability, while the Orakei Estate was being further roaded and dealt with, a scheme supplementary to that which will be commenced in Auckland shortly would be proceeded with on the Casey Estate. _ In a municipal housing scheme, which was submitted to the council in August, the Casey Estate was one of a number submitted for consideration by the city engineer, Mr. J. Tyler. He said that the total frontages on the estate were 7730 ft. He estimated that the total cost for completing the subdivision and erecting houses would be £204,250, or £771 a house. The estate lies between the Sacred Heart College property and Cox s Creek, with Richmond Road on the south. It is mostly high land with a sunny aspect. One porof the area adjoins the lower part of Bayfield Park, and it is hoped by the City Council some time to reclaim the upper reaches of Cox's Creek. This would provide the housing settlement with another valuable recreation reserve.

Cox's Creek Reserve Under the original subdivision there is already a public reserve of approximately acres extending to the Cox's Creek foreshore. The site is within reasonable walking distance of the second section of the Richmond RoadCity tramway route and has the advantage of being in the midst of a large residential area in which many of the prospective occupiers of the new Government houses now live.

ORAKEI SUBDIVISION SMALLER LOTS PROVIDED Plans for the subdivision of a third block of land at Orakei for use in the Government housing scheme were submitted to the City Council last night. Toward the end of last year the council approved the re-subdivision of two blocks of land on the Orakei Garden suburb. These blocks had been subdivided and roaded under the original Garden Suburb plan, but the Housing Department, which took them over, desired to reduce the size of some of the sections. Accordingly the first block, lying east of Coates Avenue, and between Paora and Paerinui Streets, and containing a lot area of 33 acres, was originally subdivided into 110 lots. Four of these had been sold privately and the remaining 106 were re-subdivided into 141 lots. The other block, south of Paerimu Street and east of Coates Avenue, contains 17 acres. It was originally divided into 62 lots, but was re-subdivided into 76 lots.

The third block, the plans of which were submitted to the council last night, contains 23 acres and had not previously been subdivided. It is proposed to form 93 chains of road generally 50 feet wide. An area of 4£ acres has been set aside for a school sit« and the balance has been cut into 93 lots, having from 50 to 60 feet frontage. The plans were referred to the Town Planning Committee for a report.