First Pacific village-style homes open in Porirua, delivered early and under budget

A bold new chapter has started for Pasifika families in eastern Porirua as the first purpose-built Pacific village-style homes open their doors.

The Our Whare Our Fale development aims to offer hope, pride, and a fresh start to a community that has long dreamed of home ownership.

Construction began in November last year, and on Tuesday, the community celebrated the completion of 18 homes on Castor Crescent, delivered three months ahead of schedule and under budget.

In Cannons Creek, where more than 60 per cent of residents are Pasifika and home ownership sits well below the city average, the milestone carries particular weight.

Erin Millar is one of the new homeowners and says the move is transformative, a life-changing moment for her family.

“In the last eight years, we’ve had to move four times. Our new home will bring stability and certainty to me and my whanau. We even have an accessible space for our Grandma when she needs to come and stay," Millar says in a statement.

Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira, Chief Executive of Central Pacific Collective (CPC), says the handover represents generations of sacrifice, resilience, and hope.

“This is about the story of migration,” he tells William Terite on Pacific Mornings. “Our people arrived in this country living in a place where the weather isn’t great to them, the environment wasn’t great to them at all. But we lived here, built our lives here, worked hard here, and getting to a home is a dream come true.

“We’re building homes for the people who will never ever own in a lifetime. This is a signpost to the vision, the courage and determination by all of us to make sure that our people need to be housed.”

The malae (white) and green area are central to the development layout and design. Image/CPC Homes

Affordability has been the key focus of the project, which attracted interest from over 500 potential buyers. All 18 homes in the first stage have now sold, with prices ranging from $298,000 for a two-bedroom home to $450,000 for a four-bedroom. Buyers were able to enter ownership with just a five per cent deposit.

“Because we’re not a private developer, we don’t have margins we pass on, so we build at cost. We’re able to negotiate with suppliers for far better deals than perhaps when you’re buying individually. We’ve also got a shared equity scheme, if you can’t afford the full mortgage, we’ll put in up to 40 per cent.”

The project began in 2020 through a partnership between CPC and local iwi Ngāti Toa, which provided the land under a long-term lease. A $114.6 million Government investment has supported the development.

Dr Shane Reti, Minister for Pacific Peoples, says the programme is an example of what effective community-driven housing can achieve.

“Initiatives like Our Whare Our Fale are making a real difference. They build affordable homes, strengthen financial skills, and give families the security they need to thrive. This is the kind of progress we want to see across the country,” Reti says in a statement.

Our Whare Our Fale Stage 1 during the construction process. Photo/Supplied

A village designed by Pasifika, for Pasifika

Fa’amatuainu says the homes were shaped directly by community feedback, with the duplexes and townhouses designed to reflect the layout and connected living of Pacific villages.

“Our homes don’t face the street, our homes face the malae, the point where all of our communities will provide cohesion and opportunities to flourish. We have a village green where the kids can enjoy their time.

“If there is a funeral in a house, there are spaces that will accommodate that. As we say in Sāmoan, it's not about the house, it's about the people living in the house.”

New homeowners Manu and Viena Paongo say they are excited to put down roots.

"We are particularly excited to celebrate our first Christmas in the new home. We know that our new village community will support and uplift everyone, offering special moments reminiscent of the village life we enjoyed in the islands," they say in a statement.

Listen to Fa'amatuainu Tino Pereira's full interview below.

Planning for the next 32 homes

Stages 1.2 and 1.3 are already underway, with 32 more homes scheduled for completion by December 2026. Future stages will be adapted in response to ongoing community needs.

Fa’amatuainu says CPC is prioritising four-bedroom houses for larger families while still providing smaller homes for couples and retirees.

He says the long-term goal is to build 300 affordable homes by 2034 with improvements in health, education, and economic opportunity.

“People who have never had equity in their lives will now find some equity to invest and create more opportunities for our people. That’s the ecosystem we’re looking at, reimagining a Pacific village in 21st-century Aotearoa.”

There are plans to build 300 homes for the Our Whare, Our Fale development in Porirua. Photo/Supplied