Building Developments

Koru Paihere – Auckland

In April 2021, Visionwest took possession of a large building in Glengarry Road, Glen Eden. Formerly owned by the Salvation Army, the building was purchased to create space for back-office staff who had outgrown the Glendale Road site and to create space for a proposed development of Glendale Road.

Initially delayed by Covid and the refurbishment of Home Healthcare’s NorthWest premises, the renovation was completed in time for staff to move in on 3 April 2023.

Officially opened on 27 April 2023, the building has been gifted the name, Koru Paihere. “Koru” referring to the Visionwest koru and “Paihere” referring to cords that bind things together. So, Koru Paihere has two meanings: For staff it means, whatever our role within Visionwest, we are united and bound together as we work to advance the purpose of this koru. For whānau it means that the koru and what it stands for works to untie anything that may be holding you back from achieving your personal wellbeing goals and aspirations.

Around 130 staff work from Koru Paihere including team members from Community Housing (Tenancy and Support Services), Finance, Human Resources, People and Culture, Marketing and Partnerships, and Health and Safety.

Waitaha Canterbury Housing

It was in response to the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes that Visionwest began providing housing support in Waitaha Canterbury. Since that time the work has grown significantly, aided by a partnership with Oxford Terrace Baptist Church (OTBC) where Visionwest has had offices based in portable buildings in the church carpark.

On 4 May 2023, new buildings comprising offices and social housing were officially opened on the OTBC site. The Visionwest Waitaha team will work out of these new offices and manage seven of the social housing properties.

When OTBC pastor Andrew Meek spoke at the official opening, he told of how the land the building now sits on was once a place where local Māori would gather food for their whanau. “Today,” he said, “from this place, whānau will be housed, fed, and supported to move forward with their lives.”

As an organisation, we greatly admire the work of our Waitaha team. In just over a decade, the team has gone from a small group focused on earthquake recovery to a team of almost 30 overseeing 133 properties that Visionwest either owns or manages. The team also oversees up to 60 cohorts in the Sustaining Tenancies programme.