A 14.5 hectare block of farmland is set to house hundreds of people, who will own their own homes and have a common house for shared meals and communal land for gardens.
Duane, Roman, Kirsty and Indie Fernandes have bought a house in the cohousing development and moved to the region from Tauranga. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
It's the site of the Tākaka Cohousing Neighbourhood, an initiative that aims to provide an alternative for housing developments with high-quality, sustainable housing.
Earthworks will soon begin on the site on the corner of Rototai Rd and Meihana St, which will eventually see about 100 houses built across three neighbourhoods.
Residents will own their own homes and there will be a common house for shared meals and communal land for gardens.
The first neighbourhood of 34 homes has nearly sold out, with just over half snapped up by people from around Aotearoa, and the rest to locals.
Kirsty and Duane Fernandes first heard about the project while living in Tauranga, where they had plans to be involved in a cohousing initiative.
When they learnt about what was happening in Tākaka, Kirsty Fernandes said it was much further advanced than their plans and was aligned with what they were looking for.
They made the decision to move to Golden Bay with their two young children and will be among the neighbourhood's first residents.
Te Hapori Hauora_Community Land Trust map showing how the 14.5 hectares will be developed. Photo: Supplied
"We are a young family and so we recognise that it takes a village to raise children and we're looking forward to having community meals, to the fact that our kids can run around out in front of the house, and in other people's gardens and we don't have to worry about cars, and that they're going to grow up alongside other adults who can influence them as well as their friends."
Janet Zrinyi, a midwife in Golden Bay, has also bought a house in the first neighbourhood and said she was impressed by the talent and experience of those behind the social enterprise project.
"I'm getting older, I'm 60 and I'd like to live in a new house. I'd say I'm a sociable introvert so it would be nice to have other people around and quite a diversity of people, but to have my own place as well."
Su Wyatt was attracted to the opportunity to live in a diverse, multi-generational neighbourhood.
"This community has both new babies and grandparents and I think there's a lot that we can learn from each other and give to each other and it's a much healthier environment."
She bought in after considering what she wanted her life to look like, 20 years from now.
Tākaka Cohousing Neighbourhood project co-ordinator and one of the founders Simone Kidner fell in love with Golden Bay after a campervan trip around the South Island.
Takaka Cohousing Neighbourhood project co-ordinator Simone Kidner Photo: Samantha Gee/RNZ
An architect from the UK, she moved to New Zealand in 2018 and said the Tākaka project was an opportunity to create societal change and live differently.
The vision prioritises building community over building houses - with fewer roads, more land and shared resources.
"We have a common house, which is basically everybody's second home. It's a large dining hall, it's got a commercial kitchen, a guest bedroom, laundry, it's really a space that's the hub of the community, where we can have meals, where we meet, where we spend time together, dance together, play together."
An artist's impression of the three-room dwellings on offer. Photo: Supplied
The neighbourhoods have been designed with input from residents and Kidner said their size was important.
"Fifty adults can normally make decisions quite well together, you have too little, you don't have enough people to put in the mahi to make those decisions work and if you have too many, it's too many cooks in the kitchen, you can't make it work."
"That's why we've got three neighbourhoods, we're aiming for about 50 adults in each."
The entire 100-home development will be built in four stages, with the first neighbourhood expected to be complete by the end of next year.
