A housing development that mixes social and private rental homes has opened on a redeveloped site in Melbourne’s inner south-east.
The first 100 returning and first-time residents have moved into the development at Prahan that comprises 228 social and 195 private rental homes, and 11 specialist disability accommodation homes, in a mix of one, two and three bedrooms.
Not-for-profit housing organisation Community Housing designed, built, financed, managed and will maintain the housing for 40 years under the Victorian Government’s Ground Lease Model 1 project (GLM1).
The homes in the project at Bang Street include 5-star energy rating for heating and cooling while the site has a range of communal spaces including outdoor areas, recreational spaces and a rooftop garden.
The site, 5km from the Melbourne CBD, is near shopping precincts, schools and public transport as well as local destinations including Prahran Aquatic Centre and Chapel Street.
The new precinct replaces social homes on the site that were deemed no longer fit for purpose and has increased the number of social housing by 90 per cent, according to the government.
The project has not been without its controversy; in 2017, when it was announced, residents expressed concerns about where they would live during the redevelopment—all residents were moved out to nearby housing.
Under GLM1, Homes Victoria leases Crown land to a private consortium, including Community Housing, under an availability model to design, build, finance, manage and maintain the housing for 40 years.
GLM1 includes redevelopments at Prahran, Brighton and Flemington delivering 1084 homes.
Housing Australia provided $394.1 million to support GLM1—at the time of funding approval in 2021 this was the largest single funding deal by Housing Australia.
Since then, Housing Australia has approved a further $517 million in funding to support the second stage—GLM2.
Together, the programs will deliver 2454 homes across metropolitan Melbourne including at least 1200 social housing homes.
