This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
A STOCKLAND-led consortium will deliver one of the largest social housing renewal projects in Australian history, while the NSW Minns government begins to explore 3D printing in a bid to cut construction costs and times for social and affordable homes.
Following a tender process, the Minns government has selected Stockland, Link Wentworth Housing, City West Housing, and Birribee as the preferred partners to build homes and lead the Waterloo Estate renewal in Sydney’s inner south.
Waterloo Estate will be renewed in stages, starting with Waterloo South where 750 older public housing properties with be replaced with new homes. Fifty per cent of all new homes in Waterloo South will be dedicated to social and affordable housing.
All impacted residents will be given at least six months’ notice before having to move and provided with “dedicated support every step of the way”, the NSW government said. All residents will be given the right to return when the renewal is complete.
The mixed-tenure Waterloo South project will deliver approximately 3,000 new social, affordable, and private homes, along with new facilities, retail precincts, and public open spaces.
NSW government data shows there were 56,332 households on the social housing waitlist at the end of June, while the median wait time has come down from 26.6 months in September 2023 year to 20.1 months in June this year. Amid a national housing crisis, the Sydney rental market remains remarkably tight and is the most expensive in the country.
The Minns government put $6.6 billion into social housing and homelessness services in this year’s budget, with aim of building 8,400 social homes across the state. Of these, 6,200 would be new homes and 2,200 would replace established accommodation.
Homes NSW will now start negotiating contracts with the building partners to plan, design, deliver and fund the Waterloo development for the next 10 to 15 years, as well as ongoing operations. Negotiations are expected to take six months.
“Building on our 72-year legacy as a leading creator and curator of connected communities, we look forward to working with Homes NSW, our partners and the community to deliver vibrant and inclusive spaces, with high quality homes for all the residents,” said Stockland managing director and CEO, Tarun Gupta.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said, “We are proud to be building Australia’s largest ever social housing project – modern, accessible and better homes to confront the housing crisis head-on.
“This is another step forward in addressing the state’s housing crisis, the announcement of our delivery partners for Waterloo South means we are closer to building 1,500, new and sustainable social and affordable homes.
Member for Heffron, Ron Hoenig said, “This announcement brings us a step closer to vastly improving the quality of life for these residents, many of whom have lived in their homes for many years and have built a community with their neighbours.”
3D printing new homes
Meanwhile, the Minns government will begin exploring 3D printing to deliver social and affordable homes, saying the method could to reduce costs and cut construction time by 50%.
Construction is expected to be completed within 16 weeks, compared to the roughly 40 weeks required by traditional methods. The NSW government’s plan follows Queensland’s Miles government last month furthering its rollout of pre-fabricated homes to speed up delivery of social housing.
For the first social housing property delivered by 3D printing, the NSW government has engaged Aboriginal Sustainable Homes, who will work in partnership with Contour3D to transform a vacant block of land in Dubbo into two two-bedroom duplexes, providing Aboriginal Housing Office tenants a secure home.
“Utilising modern methods of construction like this 3D printing technology is critically important to delivering social and affordable homes sooner, especially in regional and remote areas,” Jackson said.
“The success of this project will help to determine whether this construction method becomes one of the many ways we can deliver more social housing right across the state in a bid to help us tackle the growing crisis.”
