NEW BUILDING
On 15th January 2024 round 1 of funding from the Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord Facility opened to Government, Community Housing and property developers across Australia to drive the creation of more affordable and social housing. Connect saw this as an opportunity to grow our community housing stock and further help those over 60 in Victoria Park to access safe, secure and affordable, long-term housing.
Connect put forward a proposal for 15, one-bedroom units prioritising older women at risk of homelessness, to be built on the currently vacant site located at 16 Leonard Street. This land currently belongs to the State Government and is an ideal location as it is just a 600m walk from our office on 5 Mackie Street, and 200m from Victoria Park Central (Woolworths) and Albany Highway.
Our application to Housing Australia was announced as being successful in March 2025 and final negotiations are underway to secure remaining finances and a transfer of the land.
This will be a three-storey building, with lift access to each level for accessibility, with at least 9 of the 15 units meeting Gold Standard under the Liveable Housing Australia guidelines. As part of the design process, we have taken into consideration the lived experience of our current tenants, to ensure we get this build right from the start for our future tenants.
We are also hoping to make this development fully powered through a solar and battery system, reducing the reliance on commercial electricity supply and making our housing more sustainable (subject to funding).
This will be a three-storey building, with lift access to each level for accessibility, with at least 9 of the 15 units meeting Gold Standard under the Liveable Housing Australia guidelines. As part of the design process, we have taken into consideration the lived experience of our current tenants, to ensure we get this build right from the start for our future tenants.
The project received Development Approval from the Metro Inner Development Assessment Panel on 12 June 2025.
Both State and Federal Governments have been incredibly supportive of this initiative and we are confident we will be in a position to announce the appointment of a builder in the near future.
So, watch this space and we will keep you updated as the project progresses, and we reach milestones.
