Watchfield Close - Homestar-rated Homes

New Zealand Housing Foundation exists to relieve poverty by increasing access to affordable housing for low-income individuals and households.

Watchfield Close, Māngere is a multi-unit residential development delivering 19 high-quality, affordable two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes for families. The homes are Homestar-rated, providing warm, dry living environments with low running costs, and are purchased through NZ Housing Foundation’s shared-ownership programme.

PJM was engaged as client-side project manager, providing design management, project management, construction observation, and contract administration services across the design, procurement, and construction phases. PJM was appointed at a critical point in the project, with escalating costs and site constraints placing pressure on overall viability.

In response, PJM worked closely with NZ Housing Foundation to run a targeted design competition involving four experienced architectural practices. The objective was to increase site yield and optimise the layout while maintaining quality and affordability. This process resulted in the addition of two dwellings, a reduction in hardstand and concrete driveways, improved green space and site amenity, and an overall improvement in development efficiency and financial outcomes.

The project was delivered using an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) approach with the preferred civil contractor and building contractor. This enabled early collaboration on buildability, staging, materials, and methodology, resulting in improved cost certainty, programme efficiencies, and further savings for our client.