DEVELOPER Third.i Group and Phoenix Property Investors (PPI) will dedicate 15% of housing at its $100 million-plus over-station development in Crows Nest for frontline workers from nearby Royal North Shore and the Mater Hospitals, and other health facilities across the metropolitan area, after Sydney Metro granted consent for amended plans.
The joint venture partners announced they had reworked their Hume Place mixed-use project plans just over a year ago to provide the housing, and they will now progress work with one of Australia’s largest CHPs in Evolve Housing to deliver the homes.
Evolve will work with the state’s two major health unions, the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSW NMA) and the Health Services Union (HSU), to offer their eligible members on low-to-medium incomes new rental apartments at around 25% below market rates.
Third.i’s head of acquisitions, Florian Caillon, said, “In addition to over 100 apartments, we are providing to Evolve to manage in perpetuity, we are excited by the significant flow-on affect our proposal will have on the local market, with Evolve leveraging this unencumbered, turn-key asset to finance a new pipeline of up to 500 affordable homes across other sites in NSW.”
Announcement of the amended plans for Hume Place came just days after an Aware Super report found that a chronic shortage of affordable housing for essential workers near their jobs in Australia’s capital cities is costing the nation $64 billion.
The offering from Third.i and PPI is one of the largest contributions ever made by a private developer in NSW to a CHP.
“Unfortunately, the demand for affordable housing continues to out-strip the current supply capabilities on to the market,” Evolve CEO Lyall Gorman said.
“Evolve recognises its responsibility in increasing the supply of affordable housing, which is why we look forward to working with Third.i, PPI, the NSW NMA and the HSU to provide urgently-needed affordable housing options for low to moderate income earners who would otherwise find it almost impossible to find a home in the private market”
HSU secretary, Gerard Hayes, said: “The cost of housing is scorching the pay of health and hospital workers. Housing is right at the centre of the cost of living crisis”.
“Our members are driving so far, they’re exhausted before they begin work. We need more projects like this, so health and hospital workers can live in the same community they serve.”
A survey of more than 3,000 NSW NMA members found that 69% of nurses and midwives were experiencing rental stress and 76% of respondents indicated a lack of affordable secure housing is a problem for them.
“Nurses and midwives must be supported with affordable and secure housing options close to their place of work. These dedicated health worker apartments will have a positive impact on the recruitment and retention of local nurses and midwives, which is desperately needed right now as the state’s health system struggles with staffing shortages,” said NSW NMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish.
Third.i and PPI were already granted stage one approval for the Metro Precinct (site A and B) development, but due to the demand for greater residential density on Sydney’s lower north shore and the decreased demand for office space, amended the concept SSD for site A for mixed-use, which includes a mix of affordable housing, private residential, retail, and commercial floor space.
Contingent on planning approvals, Third.i and PPI will hand-over title of one of the two tower blocks on Site A, comprising studio, one and two-bedroom apartments, to Evolve to own and manage.
Third.i and PPI have just announced stage two will be delivered as a build-to-rent offering with circa 476 apartments, with around 60 units to be earmarked for affordable housing for frontline and key essential healthcare workers.
“Sydney Metro’s decision is welcome news for Third.i, PPI and Evolve, but most importantly, it’s a big win for Sydney’s frontline health workers who are struggling to find an affordable home close to where they work,” said Third.i co-founder, Robert Huxley.
“The strategic location of Hume Place, situated above the Crows Nest Metro Station, will allow health workers to easily access RNS, Royal Prince Alfred (RPA), Sydney and St Vincent’s Hospitals, within just a few minutes.”
“That will alleviate the long travel times they currently experience getting to work and will result in a greatly improved work-life balance.”
The amended concept SSDA is compliant with the NSW Minns government’s Transport Oriented Development initiative which identifies Crows Nest as an accelerated precinct aimed at delivering up to 3,255 new homes.
