VICTORIA’S Allan government has fast-tracked the approval of more than 150 new homes near Melbourne’s Chapel Street shopping precinct under its ground lease model.
The Essex Street development follows on from another Prahran ground lease project by the government, where residents have just started moving into its 434 social, market rental and specialist disability homes apartments.
The 155 new homes at Essex Street include 101 social and affordable homes and 54 market homes, which will be delivered across two residential buildings.
“We know we need more homes in Melbourne’s inner suburbs and this development does just that – delivering more social, affordable and market homes close to essential services, tram stops, supermarkets, parks and shops,” said Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny.
The redevelopment will include specialist disability accommodation and increase the amount of homes previously on the site by 146%, including a 37% increase in social homes.
Under a ground lease model, public land is leased for a fixed term to a project group that develop, finance and build new housing before handing the assets back to the Government once the term has finished.
As well as the completed Prahran project, Ground Lease Model 1 projects include a development in Brighton, where residents also began moving in last month, and multiple projects in Flemington, and will deliver 1,084 new homes.
The Essex Street project is being delivered as part of the Victorian government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build program which has delivered 436 new homes in the City of Stonnington and a further 677 homes under construction.
The Big Housing Build claims 9,200 homes completed or underway. The government says it is on track to deliver more than 12,000 new social and affordable homes and create more than 40,000 jobs in construction. A further boost in social and affordable housing will come via national cabinet’s Housing Australia Future Fund, National Housing Accord and Social Housing Accelerator programs.
The Victoria government last year announced within its Housing Statement that it would aim to build 800,000 new homes over the next decade. As part of national cabinet’s National Housing Accord, which runs for five years from July, Victoria is planned to receive around 305,000 new homes.
