Almost 70 Kiwibuild homes are to be built in a neglected New Plymouth neighbourhood more than a decade after a new housing project was first promised.

In 2008, 28 Housing New Zealand properties were demolished in Marfell and in 2012, 20 families were forced to move out to make way for a development that never materialised.

And some locals remain sceptical about the Kiwibuild initiative.

Several more Housing New Zealand properties were demolished in Marfell last year after being ransacked.

The Minister for Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford, who made the announcement, said Marfell had become a symbol of inaction.

He said the $23 million, 68-home Kiwibuild project would revive the whole neighbourhood.

"For young families, for first-home buyers who will get their start in life in this community it's an investment that we believe will revitalise and rejuvenate this community," he said. 

"It will bring people right back into the heart of this neighbourhood and provide a lifetime of opportunities for young families right here."

Twyford said the three and four-bedroom homes would be warm and dry, and built using the latest technology.

But he acknowledged that with a maximum price tag of $450,000 the homes would be out of the reach of many current Marfell residents.

Twyford said Kiwibuild homes were targeted at people who could service a mortgage.

"There will be some whose incomes are too low to be able to afford to do that. So I would expect people with a household income of say $70,000, $80,000 or $90,000 would be able to take on the kind of mortgage we're talking about for these homes here, but I know there are lots of people who earn less than that."

Twyford said an influx of middle income families would add a new dimension to an already vibrant community.

But not everyone shared his vision.

Twyford spoke to labourer Luke Ah Kuio, who was taking baby Taylor-Joe for a walk with his partner Krete.

He too thought the homes were pricey.

"For a low decile area I think that is pretty steep. You know for the people that are living here that's pretty steep, but at least they're doing something."

Ah Kuio, who paid $270 a week for his run-down rental, was interested in a rent-to-buy option floated by Minister Twyford.

"If what he was saying that'll they'll own part of it until you pay off so much and then you buy it off them. I think it depends if it's $300 a week, I think that's affordable."