Landcom Partners Up for North Sydney Affordable Housing

The New South Wales Government is partnering with one of Australia’s biggest community housing providers to deliver affordable living with a pair of 14-storey towers in Sydney’s north-west.

Link Wentworth, a registered not-for-profit organisation, will own and manage the 135 affordable units being built on a 2507sq m property owned by Landcom, the NSW Government-owned corporation responsible for new housing.

The partners are hoping for Federal Government help in funding the development, which comes with estimated construction costs of $72.65 million.

The Urban Developer understands Link Wentworth is preparing an application to the $10-billion Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) and National Housing Accord Facility (NHAF), which provides funding for social and affordable homes.

Both are federal initiatives to improve housing, collectively supporting the delivery of 20,000 new social and 20,000 new affordable homes across Australia over five years.

Applications for the first round of funding opened January 15.

Plans for the project at 6 Halifax Street, in Macquarie Park—about 15km north-west of the Sydney CBD—currently sit with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, where they will be on exhibition until March 25.

▲ Link Wentworth, a registered not-for-profit organisation, will own and manage the 135 affordable home units.

Designed by SJB Architects, those plans call for 83 one-bedroom, and 52 two-bedroom apartments. All will be classified as affordable housing.

There will be rooftop gardens above each of the two towers and two levels of basement parking for 39 vehicles. A mews road will be built along the rectangular property’s northern boundary and about 1020sq m will be given over to communal open space at ground level.

Town planners GLN Planning, who lodged documents on behalf of the partners, said a clause 4.6 variation request had been prepared as “an abundance of caution”. At 52.76m to the lift overruns, the development exceeds the maximum floor-space ratio.

Landcom’s property forms part of the Lachlan’s Line Precinct, a masterplanned community approved under a concept development by the Department of Planning in March of 2015.

GLN Planning said 80 per cent of people who worked within Ryde City Council travelled from outside the area. And 39 per cent of households that rented were in rental housing stress.

“Landcom and Link Wentworth, in partnership, seek to deliver a project that will provide affordable homes that are safe and secure, where individuals and families can thrive,” GLN Planning said.

“This project will provide housing for a range of people who may not have had access to that community otherwise, thereby increasing their opportunity to share in community prosperity.”

▲ The two partners preparing an application to the Federal Government for funding assistance.