A total gamechanger for Flaxmere is what! This amazing full-of-heart suburb was planned with a vision of attainable, high-quality homes with easy access to beautiful green spaces and plenty of amenity for an easier life. That’s what Te Rito will become. Seven residential collections are being created in the heart of Flaxmere. Need to commute? It’s easy in any direction with great transport links. Close to home, it’s a short walk to Flaxmere Village itself. At Te Rito, you’re right amongst it all, but close to premium green and recreation spaces too. The best of both worlds. You’ll find us next door to Flaxmere College grounds, encircled by Chatham Road, Caernarvon Drive and Swansea Road.

Te Rito sets a new high standard for Flaxmere, with seven collections of medium-density homes to be created across a master-planned neighbourhood, together with a central park at its core. When complete, this new way of living will be enjoyed by whānau and community, with 140 brand-new, high-quality, attainable homes and a range of housing opportunities created across the 4.7hectare site. All collections will be either one or two-storey, or a combination.

Smack bang in the heart of Flaxmere, Hastings! Find out more about our neighbourhood layout here and understand Te Rito's connection to Flaxmere here

Te Rito is a major milestone in the re-development and proud long-term investment into Flaxmere by the Development Partners: Heretaunga Tamatea Hāpai Limited ('The Partnership') and TW Property The Partnership team: Together with our Whānau Impact Partner, Ka Uruora, The Partnership is enabling 70 high-quality homes within Te Rito for whānau, available as either affordable rentals or as shared homeownership opportunities. The first 15 are nearly complete in Collection 1, and the rest will be completed before the end of June 2027. These 70 homes are in addition to the significant number of homes which will be made available to community by Development Partner: TW Property. Heretaunga Tamatea Pou Tahua  is the asset holding company for Tamatea Pōkai Whenua  ('TPW': the Post Settlement Governance Entity, representing the 23 marae and 43 hapū across Heretaunga Tamatea). The vision of Tamatea Pōkai Whenua is Mokopuna Mana Motuhake - enabling self-determination for future generations. Tamatea Pōkai Whenua and Heretaunga Tamatea Pou Tahua are committed to providing meaningful housing opportunities and supporting whānau to meet their aspirations now and into the future.​ ​Hāpai Housing  is a unique Iwi/Māori-owned and governed mixed-tenure housing specialist. The outstanding quality and urban design of Hāpai developments Aotearoa-wide has been recognised with multiple awards already achieved and a significant pipeline of residential development across Aotearoa. Hāpai is singularly focused on delivering quality housing outcomes and empowering enduring Māori success in the property sector. Ka Uruora  offers savings, education and home ownership opportunities to help whānau work towards achieving financial independence. Whether looking to rent or wanting to work towards homeownership, there is a pathway into Te Rito for whānau. The first step is to connect with the Ka Uruora team and sign up to Te Uru Ahupūtea, a financial literacy course, which covers everything from budgeting to mortgage applications. Whānau can register with Ka Uruora here, or email support.tmm@kauruora.nz  About TW Property: TW Property  is one of Hawke’s Bay’s largest property and construction firms significantly committed to the growth of Flaxmere - including the development of the new Woolworths Supermarket and the upcoming Flaxmere Shopping Village.   As an end-to-end property and land development specialist business, the experienced TW Property team deliver high-quality developments throughout New Zealand - across residential, commercial and industrial sectors. TW Property’s Flaxmere town centre redevelopment will soon welcome a brand-new Woolworths Supermarket before working towards a fully re-developed Village Shopping Centre. Set to become the new heart of FLX, the project builds on long-term community planning to add connection, vibrancy and growth: watch this space!​ ​ TW Property is developing a significant number of home & land packages within Te Rito, starting with Collection 2: Te Muka: register your interest to be notified as soon as opportunities are released to community via the TW Group.   The Partnership team and TW Property are jointly known for the quality for their projects and are here in Flaxmere for the long term.

Te Rito offers something for everyone, with collections across Te Rito being available for the community. Whether you’re already living in Flaxmere, have been seeking the right opportunity to return home, or are ready to join this heart-filled place for the very first time, Te Rito welcomes you. Downsizers looking to effectively manage retirement costs, first-time homebuyers, young families, or anyone wanting a high quality, low-maintenance architectural home within easy reach of all the essentials will be in very good company at Te Rito. 70 high quality homes are being enabled within Te Riti for uri of Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, enabled by impact investment from Hāpai Housing & Heretaunga Tamatea Pou Tahua, together with Whānau Impact Partner, Ka Uruora & Te Uru Ahupūtea: a programme helping whānau to build pathways toward financial independence, healthy kāinga, and long-term housing security. Collection 1, Te Awhi Rito (15 homes) is available now, and Collection 3: Te Rau Tūpuna is launching in July 2026. TW Property will be selling a significant number homes within Te Rito, available for purchase by community. Registrations of interest are now open for TW Property's Collection 2: Te Muka.

As gifted to the project by the Taiao Advisory Panel:   Te Rito sits within the wider environmental and historical context of the Heretaunga plains. With a landscape historically shaped by braided rivers, aquifer systems, wetlands and extensive harakeke areas, these ecological systems informed settlement patterns and resource use across the area and remain a key reference of identity.   Guided by harakeke as a metaphor for community, the rito represents the protected centre and the next generation. This framework reflects ideas of whānau, protection, growth and collective support. Te Rito reflects the concept of a protected centre and future generations. The neighbourhood becomes the rito - a place where whānau can grow, settle and establish roots. Collection 1: Te Awhi Rito. This naming refers to the leaves that sit closest to the rito, offering protection and care. As the first collection to be delivered, it becomes the first lived expression of Te Rito, where whānau begin to settle, grow and shape the life of the neighbourhood from the inside out.

All 15 homes within our first Te Awhi Rito collection are complete. The remaining six collections within Te Rito will be developed by various project partners over the coming years. The Partnership will also be delivering a further 55 housing units within Te Rito which will be released as housing solutions for whānau. These homes will be completed before the end of June 2027 (adding to the significant number of homes which will be delivered to community by Development Partner, TW Property). TW Property has started on Collection 2, Te Muka and is welcoming registrations of interest from community

Flaxmere is ready to reach its potential! Te Rito is a major milestone in the redevelopment and proud long-term investment into Flaxmere by The Partnership and TW Property. TW Property’s town centre redevelopment will soon welcome a brand-new Woolworths Supermarket before working towards a fully re-developed Village Shopping Centre. Set to become the new heart of FLX, the project builds on long-term community planning to add connection, vibrancy and growth: watch this space! With award-winning parks and recreational spaces, significant investment into local kura, a new master plan for the town centre, and a brand-new supermarket launching mid-2026, Flaxmere is undoubtedly growing, thriving and looking ahead to a strong future for all generations. Significant investments into both infrastructure and community spaces are combining to make Flaxmere an even better place to call home. With 140 new architectural homes joining Te Rito over the coming years, this is one of the single biggest housing investments in Flaxmere for over 40 years.

Yes. Four new roads have been created within Te Rito to create the seven collections. These have been named by Hastings District Council in honour of local Flaxmere local heroes who contributed significantly to Flaxmere (and beyond) during their lifetimes. You can find out more about the Flaxmere legends behind the new road names here

Yes, this was managed through the resource consent process, and minimum floor levels have been set accordingly.

The emerging community heart for Te Rito is Tuivaiti Reserve. Plans are underway for native planting, wai (waterway) connections and Pou whenua to be carved by Frank Wainohu. The pou include ancestral boundary markers and events associated with the Ngaruroro River, historic river branches such as Mangarua that once flowed through the area, traditional plant resources including houi (lacebark) and harakeke used for weaving, the pā harakeke model of whānau and community structure, and the birdlife and ecological systems that historically occupied the braided river margins. Together the pou establish a cultural reading of the landscape and provide a narrative anchor for the reserve as the community heart of Te Rito.

Hastings District Council will own and maintain Tuivaiti Reserve on lot 10 and all the public roads and assets. Our team will over the coming months implement a range of placemaking strategies that will help make Te Rito a very special place in the urban fabric of Flaxmere: watch this space!

It is our pleasure to introduce you to Collection 1: Te Awhi Rito, the first homes to be completed at Te Rito Flaxmere. These homes are truly beautiful! Not just another cookie cutter development by any measure, Te Awhi Rito has been defined by one simple question: ‘what makes great?’ It’s about changing the way we live and that starts with creating homes that are aspirational. Architecture features striking rooflines and timeless cladding in a subtle nod to the past. Impressive custom glazing and generous raked ceilings in living areas ensure maximum natural light. Open plan kitchens, spacious interiors, and hardworking interior fixtures make these homes very special. All homes are fully fenced, with low-impact landscaping and private courtyards for modern living. These 2 & 3-bedroom homes are available to qualifying whānau as either affordable rentals or shared ownership opportunities via our whānau housing partner, Ka Uruora: All are single-storey, fully fenced and landscaped. Six are 3-bedroom homes. Nine are 2-bedroom homes. Homes are sized 90 - 119m2. Sections are grassed, with planting in place and low maintenance courtyards too (either front, rear or both). All have 1.5 bathrooms (1 full bathroom with shower, toilet, basin; and 1 half-bathroom with toilet/basin). All offer open-plan living: 5 floor plans to choose from. 11 homes are standalone with an internal access garage. 4 homes are duplexes with parking on a car pad. Laundries are located either in a dedicated cupboard off the hallway or in the garage. Window blinds are all included. Purchasers get a home & garden maintenance set. Cost control: fully insulated, thermally broken double glazing, heating/cooling via heat pump. Architecture of homes: Designgroup Stapleton Elliot (DGSE). Collection 1: Te Awhi Rito has been designed by DGSE: multi award-winning architects. DGSE creates architecture that responds to our evolving world. Every design acknowledges people, place, and culture, contributing to our greater pursuit of shaping a design language that celebrates Aotearoa. DGSE’s work is known for its conceptual clarity and harmony with the environment. A nationwide team works as a collective, from studios in Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington, and Queenstown. They’re behind projects such as Hawke’s Bay Airport, Marine Parade’s Waterfront Park and adaptive reuse of former Marineland, and Waiaroha - Heretaunga Water Discovery Centre (Silver Badge in the Toitanga category for Best Awards 2025). Residential projects of note include Sunset West, Hyde Lane, Kaimai Terraces, Bayview House, Punakērua House and Matua House. Landscape design of homes: DGSE Engineering Design: Strata Group Interior design: TW Homes Delivery of homes: TW Construction Impact investors: Heretaunga Tamatea Hāpai Limited Whānau Impact Partner: Ka Uruora

12 of the homes have a direct frontage onto either Caernarvon Drive, Ratima Avenue or Tuivaiti Street 3 of the homes (addresses: 9,11 & 13 Tuivaiti Street) share an accessway off Tuivaiti Street. All homes are fully fenced and grassed with courtyard(s) and specimen tree(s) combined with low/medium planting. Some gardens have additional high-level planting for privacy.

The remaining six collections will be released in the coming years as market demands require. Work has already started on Collection 2 (register here, available via TW Property) and Collection 3 will be releasing in July 2026 to uri of Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, register here (will become available via Ka Uruora)