Back in 2022, we partnered with Community Finance to make a $14 million impact investment to finance 35 new homes for people in need, in partnership with Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust. We’re proud to say that the Willard Street project, completed in 2023, has now been recognised with an award for its high-quality homes that lead the way in design, performance and community impact.
The Willard Street development won Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust a Gold Award (Residential) at the 2025 New Zealand Commercial Project Awards, presented by Master Builders. The awards celebrate projects that demonstrate innovation, quality and collaboration across New Zealand’s building sector.
Willard Street includes 35 warm, comfortable homes designed for modern public housing. The new Homestar 7-rated homes replace 26 ageing bedsits built in the 1940s.
Our impact investments
This investment was one of our impact investments, which aim to make a positive difference to the lives of New Zealanders, whilst providing fair market returns for our Generate KiwiSaver Scheme members.
Generate Portfolio Manager, Ayrton Oliver, says this recognition further reinforces the value of the project.
“Working together with Community Finance and Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust (ŌCHT) shows the potential influence that investing can have on social outcomes for New Zealand, as well as the financial returns for Generate KiwiSaver Scheme members over the long term,” he says.
“Responsible investing is one of our core values at Generate, so we often seek out investment opportunities that have the potential to drive both positive financial returns and positive social impact - we don’t believe these need to be mutually exclusive.”
In 2020 Generate was the first KiwiSaver scheme to invest in social housing via a $21 million investment managed by Community Finance into Salvation Army Community Bonds. That investment supported 118 warm, dry, affordable community houses across three locations.
ABOUT ŌTAUTAHI COMMUNITY HOUSING TRUST
The Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust is one of the largest residential landlords in the country with a portfolio of 2,450 homes of which it owns over 570 properties and leases a further 1880 properties. It was formed in 2016 out of Christchurch City Council’s wish for a financially sustainable model for its social housing portfolio.
ABOUT COMMUNITY FINANCE
Community Finance is a leading impact investment intermediary in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It provides the connection between wholesale investors with leading positive impact investments. Its impact investments are primarily focused on financing leading Community Housing Providers (CHPs) that provide homes around the country with long term Government funding.
Click here for more information on our Responsible Investing Policy.