Work back on track after phosphorus scare

Work has resumed on a property development in Caversham after a phosphorus exposure earlier this week.

A digger working on the former site of the New Zealand Wax Vesta Company, in David St, hit a slab of the volatile compound on Wednesday evening, the same day the developers released the second stage of project on to the market.

Emergency services cordoned off the area and evacuated nearby residents.

New Zealand Property Solutions (NZPS) and TGC developers are building 36 townhouses on the site.

New Zealand Property Solutions director Denise Casey and TGC Homes director Charles Blair look over a brochure advertising the property development at 68 David St, in the Dunedin suburb of Caversham. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON

TGC director Charles Blair confirmed work had resumed and core sampling had found no further signs of hazardous substances or heavy metals.

The development’s first 12 houses, all two bedrooms, went on the market in September last year and sold out within 48 hours.

There had been "massive demand" from property investors at the time, NZPS director Denise Casey said.

That was because the houses fell under the Government’s 20-year tax exemption for new builds, she said.

On Wednesday, the company released the next stage, of 24 houses, on to the market.

The pre-release stage had had "record numbers" of inquiries, Ms Casey said.

As well as property investors, first-home buyers and people seeking to shift into smaller houses were also showing interest.

Ms Casey did not expect the second stage to sell as quickly as the first, particularly with changes to lending rules making it more difficult for home buyers.

"The demand is still there, it is just a bit harder for people at the moment, but it certainly isn’t stopping them from showing interest."

All of the townhouses in the second stage, which range from one to three bedrooms, were priced just under the Government’s cap for the $10,000 First Home Grant.

Low-maintenance townhouses would be the way of the future for home buyers, Ms Casey said.

Dunedin was growing, its population expected to boom over the coming years, and that required a rethink of how the city built houses.

"I think with how we live, and how we work, this type of living is so much more appealing to modern-day life," she said.

Most of the site’s original buildings had been demolished, and the last one was planned to be taken down by July.

It was hoped construction of the first stage would be completed by August this year and the second stage finished by May next year.