Brad Hazzard media release: Ivanhoe Estate + new Communities Plus sites

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Thursday, 25 August 2016

HOUSING PROJECT DELIVERS STRONG INTEREST

The first Communities Plus renewal project at Ivanhoe (Macquarie Park) has sparked strong interest from the private sector development industry and Community Housing Providers (CHPs), said Minister for Social Housing, Brad Hazzard.

“The three shortlisted organisations represent the top echelon of the private development sector and strong Community Housing Providers,” Mr Hazzard said.

“This is an extremely positive response to the Communities Plus program and shows how Government, the private sector and CHPs can be innovative and band together to deliver more housing and better social outcomes.”

The shortlisted groups are: Exemplar Living (Lend Lease) with St George Community Housing and Capella Capital; Frasers Property with Mission Australian Housing and Citta Property Group; and Stockland with Evolve Housing and Brookfield Multiplex Constructions.

The renewal project at Ivanhoe will boost social housing, more than doubling the current 259 social housing dwellings. The project will see 556 new social housing dwellings, at least 128 new affordable housing dwellings and some 1900 private dwellings on the eight hectare site.

The NSW Government has also announced that the second Communities Plus Neighbourhood Renewal package will be offered through an Expression of Interest to Community Housing Providers and small to medium sized private developers. These ten sites will deliver an estimated 790 new private, social and affordable homes into the high demand NSW housing market.

“These ten sites will provide a 300% increase from the current number of social housing dwellings and give residents modern new homes,” Mr Hazzard said.

Neighbourhood Renewal Release 2 involves sites in Corrimal, Wagga Wagga, St Marys, Padstow, Liverpool, South Granville (two sites), Warwick Farm, Parramatta North and Lane Cove.

Communities Plus is a $22 billion redevelopment of NSW Government owned social housing estates to deliver 23,000 new social housing dwellings and 40,500 private and affordable homes in integrated communities with better community outcomes.

Gobble-de-gook

Washington Park is seen as a good example of an integrated private/public housing precinct developed on government owned land.

From ‘We are Washington Park’ website

Stephen Cox writes: 'Architects are meeting the challenge to create social housing that looks and feels like modern private housing, with the key being to mix those subsidised dwellings with private housing.' Read more here.

Government spin, real-estate-talk or just good, old gooble-de-gook?

The last word comes from a Riverwood public housing tenant speaking at the Tenants Union's 40-year anniversary celebrations on 15 August 2016. Her point ... if they want to do away with the stigma of public housing estates, then why hive off the redeveloped part of the estate and give it a different name. Here the public housing estate is Riverwood? The developer proclaims: 'Not simply a new development but an entirely new suburb, Washington Park is situated ...' Read more here and view their spiel here.

Millers Point sell off continues

Nine more Millers Point properties have been listed for sale - you can read the full announcement here. Curiously, this announcement comes from Finance, Services and Innovation rather than FACS or anyone associated with the Social Housing portfolio.

The announcement says:

The nine Windmill Street properties each contain three bedrooms and will be sold via an Expressions of Interest process through McGrath Estate Agents that closes on 5 September 2016. 

Properties are 3, 7, 13, 17, 23, 31, 35, 41 and 45 Windmill Street. 

The new listings mark the commencement of a new stage in the Millers Point program which will see a different product mix, including a diverse range of lofts and other apartments, and blocks of units, listed on the market over the coming months.

The nine Windmill Street properties have been listed on McGrath's website for between $1.75 million and $2.3 million.

The media release states that the above properties will be sold under a neighbourhood scheme title structure, rather than Torrens title, to facilitate protection and management of the streetscape over time.

Numbers 15, 19, 21, 25, 27 and 29 Windmill Street already have been sold at auction. You can check these sales here.

Sirius will not be listed on the NSW Heritage Register

After almost four decades serving as a public housing complex, the NSW government has confirmed that it is putting the harbour view apartment block in the path of a wrecking ball. Read the media release here and the story here.

Shaun Carter, president of the Institute of Architects and chairman of the Save Our Sirius Foundation, said the government's decision was disappointing. "Sirius is fundamentally bound in that aspect of Sydney, and with the greens ban movement," Mr Carter said. "It's embedded in the whole society, culture and understanding of the Rocks. This government is showing it can't understand what society values. It's just about a zero-sum game. [The decision] confirms that they understand value, but not much about the society it is in." He said the decision would have "a very real human toll" by forcing out long-time tenants of the public housing building. The government says the building is not fit for purpose. But it was designed for housing, operates as housing, is fit for tomorrow, and is perfectly fine for housing right now. Read more here.

You may read the response from a resident of Millers Point here.

The Sirius Building is expected to be sold to developers for $100 million plus. Read more here.

Read the Tenants' Union's reaction to this news on the Brown Couch here.