Auckland apartment development popped up ‘like Lego’, then stalled. What happened?

Monday, 27 January 2025

In a matter of months, the blue pods have been craned in to form 79 apartments in Auckland's Northcote. (Video first published April 21, 2023)

The Elevation apartments, built by private company TLC Modular for Kāinga Ora’s Northcote development, were supposed to be completed in January 2024.

However, the building remains wrapped in plastic, with seemingly little progress made since 2023.

Auckland Council says it understood “design and construction issues” were behind the delay.

It was supposed to be a new way of building to get people into houses faster, but this Auckland modular apartment development has taken a year longer than expected to complete.

The Elevation apartments are part of Kāinga Ora’s Northcote development, which will consist of 1700 new homes.

The two Elevation apartment buildings are being made with modules built in Vietnam and shipped to New Zealand.

As well as social housing, the development will include affordable and market homes built by private developers, including Vietnamese company TLC Modular.

Elevation will comprise two buildings with 183 homes, made with 525 modules slotted together “like Lego” by cranes, the gaps between them filled with sealant, TLC previously told Stuff.

Each apartment will be made of two or three modules, built in Vietnam and shipped to New Zealand, and will be marketed for between $550,000 and $935,000.

While Kāinga Ora had previously used off-site manufacturing for its projects, Elevation was a pilot project for “volumetric” modules. The technique allowed for quicker builds, as the modules can be built at the same times as the foundation works.

Elevation will consist of 1700 new homes. However, the project has taken a year longer than anticipated and remains wrapped in plastic.

Elevation was due to be finished in January 2024. However, almost two years after Stuff visited the site, little seems to have progressed.

As of Friday, the building was wrapped in white plastic.

Do you know more? Email caroline.williams@stuff.co.nz

A 530-tonne crane and a bespoke lift was used to slot the 10 to 22-tonne modules into place.

Auckland Council field surveying manager Jeff Fahrensohn said there had been delays by TLC in filing building consent applications and responding to the council’s requests for further information.

The apartments will contain skirting boards that double as heaters and an instant hot water system.

The project also encountered “design and construction issues” on site, which required new designs and amendments to existing building consents.

“Dedicated Auckland Council building inspectors have been visiting the site twice-weekly for the past year,“ Fahrensohn said.

“Our understanding is that the works are now progressing well and that the cladding of the building has commenced.”

According to documents released by Kāinga Ora under the Official Information Act, higher rainfall and adverse weather in September 2023 resulted in water leaking through plastic wrapping covering one of the buildings and pooling in the construction area.

While the incident did not result in any lasting damage, TLC was forced to remove the water, install shrink-wrapping as a temporary waterproofing measure and engage environmental engineers.

In July 2023, Yakka TDC Limited - a demolition company - filed an application to put TLC into liquidation.

Yakka claimed TLC owed it $555k for work on a Papakura town house project, however, according to Business Desk, the matter was settled in October, a week before it was due to be heard in the Auckland High Court.

Stuff made multiple attempts to contact TLC Modular for comment, but it did not respond by deadline.