City West Housing will deliver 135 social and 129 affordable rental apartments close to Green Square station, on land between 330 Botany Road and 20 O’Riordan Street fronting the new Ngamuru Avenue, which will connect Bowden Street in Alexandria to Geddes Avenue in Zetland.
Council purchased industrial land for the new avenue and part has been sold at a discount to City West Housing, as well as St George Community Housing opposite for its 111-unit development.
City West’s $255m Acacia Apartments project is one of the latest housing projects funded through the Federal Government’s Housing Australia Future Fund Facility (HAFFF). It also receives some affordable housing developer contributions from the City of Sydney, financing from Commonwealth Bank’s onstruction financing (Social Loan) program and will have eight commercial / retail tenancies.
The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2029 and might be able to assist relocations from the Waterloo South redevelopment, as did City West’s Boronia Apartments with its 36 social and 38 affordable homes at 895 Bourke Street, Waterloo, again with Council and HAFFF support. HAFFF funding agrees the affordable / social mix. It is delivered in line with state requirements.
While City West is a Community Housing Provider (CHP), it manages no Homes NSW social properties. All its housing is affordable housing but at the lowest income tiers, set by the NSW government. It already houses some people who qualify for social housing.
City West can access Commonwealth Rental Assistance (CRA) for low-income tenants where Homes NSW cannot. City West says a pensioner on $532.70 still pays $133.17 rent (25%) while the CHP also gets $106.00 CRA. Almost 80% more than Homes NSW gets for the same tenant.
The mixed model of surplus land provided at a discount, affordable housing contributions, funding from state or federal governments, the ability to borrow against assets and concessional building finance are all important ingredients to deliver these and future projects.
The NSW government needs to follow Council’s example in the projects above, by making land available at a discount and finding additional ways to help fund new social and affordable housing on its surplus land.
Geoff Turnbull is the Spokesperson for REDWatch
