Regional Social Housing Project Picks New York Model

Can social housing be a feasible opportunity for developers? Launch Housing and ARM Architecture says yes, backed by the recent opening of their project Viv’s Place. 

Viv’s Place in Dandenong, Victoria, is a social housing project for at-risk women and children. 

Launch Housing focuses on developing social and affordable housing to alleviate issues of homelessness and poverty for different demographics. 

With a need for long-term not short-term housing, Launch asked that ARM Architecture look at the feasibility of several models based on the need of residents. 

This approach helped Launch overcome a key obstacle—designing the space with residents’ needs in mind but making it operationally feasible. 

ARM Architecture director Andrew Lilleyman said considering several models was key, such as the Sugarhill Housing Project in Manhattan, New York that includes communal spaces, galleries, services, and amenities within the project for the residents to use.

“Launch had a particular model that they were looking at, which was about providing social housing for at-risk women with families,” Lilleyman said.

“It is a model with wrap-around support services, that includes on-site care, education and communal benefits that can give these families a fresh start.”

It means that at-risk families do not have to leave a secure space to access services. 

▲ The project has 60 units for at-risk women and families.

Feasibility was also balanced by how much could be done to help families and the ideal amount of 60 units was decided on.

“We were looking at the number of units, the mix, configuration and size of these apartments to make sure that they had a flexible model, that could sustain families that would be there for years,” Lilleyman said.

The design includes mostly three-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments with some studios and two-bedroom apartments.

The studios and two-bedroom apartments are paired off so that they have a dual-key system and can be combined to become two or three-bedroom apartments, allowing the families safety and flexibility as their needs change.

The ground floor has office space for Launch and for other businesses and communal spaces to run events for the residents as well as spaces for childcare and other key services.

Some of the apartments are also accessible and Lilleyman said that often social housing projects were more proactive in the space of exceeding accessibility and disability standards in design. 

Lilleyman, who will speak at The Urban Developer’s Affordable and Social Housing vSummit on Thursday, October 27, said funding for Viv’s Place came from several sources.

Most social housing needs to be built first for a sector of the population that isn’t able to afford buying or renting at the usual market rates. 

Much like the build-to-rent market in Australia, it can be hard to find financing for projects upfront before to any return. 

Launch relied on government funding and philanthropy: the Victorian government contributed 40 per cent of the $30 million needed for the project, while the Ian Potter Foundation donated $2.5 million and a private donor, former Box Hill mayor Robin Friday, donated $1.2 million. 

▲ A space for children at the latest Launch Housing social housing project.

The Gandel Foundation, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and the Shine On Foundation also donated to the project. 

Launch has resolved the issue of working with government departments and organisations to move in and assist residents by partnering with Uniting Care. 

This ensures that there is due diligence and compliance with all government requirements and residents are able to access the services they need. 

This is not the only housing model that Launch is considering. 

A different housing model is being used for a social housing project for younger tenants in Bellfield near Heidelberg. 

This project has one and two-bedroom apartments but no office space and will cater to both men and women unlike the Dandenong project. 

Lilleyman said a variety in housing models and options was key to addressing the needs of the tenants occupying the projects once they are completed. 

There are other models being used in Victoria—the Fitzroy Gasworks site being developed by Development Victoria with Housing Victoria is a 200-unit mix of social housing and build-to-rent where the amenities are shared. 

Models where social and affordable housing is mixed in with other sectors allow for the removal of stigma and the creation of more diverse communities for all residents. 

Lilleyman will describe the process of finding and designing for a social housing model that is feasible and fit for purpose at the vSummit on Thursday, October 27.