More affordable housing for lower income households

There will be more housing for low-income households in the inner city following the City of Sydney’s decision to turn an unused Council-owned site in Alexandria into 21 affordable apartments.

Negotiations are now underway to sell the 803sqm site on Bourke Road to community housing provider Bridge Housing at a significant discount to enable the project.

Bridge Housing will develop and manage affordable housing on site, with at least two of the homes earmarked for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said affordable rental housing is a critical social infrastructure and necessary to support a diverse and well-functioning city.

“There is a pressing need in the city for affordable rental housing for lower income households, and this need has been intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Increasing the amount of affordable rental housing available for lower income households is an urgent priority for the City. We need to act now, to support our community now and into the future.

“We will continue to investigate opportunities across the city for affordable and diverse housing for our residents. This proposal for Bourke Road in Alexandria is an exciting opportunity to provide affordable housing near great facilities including parks, jobs and services and transport.”

The City's local housing strategy – Housing for All – establishes a 20-year vision for housing. It seeks to increase the diversity and number of homes available for low-income households and maintains the City’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 social and affordable housing targets.

The 2020 strategy includes a target to increase the number of private dwellings in the local area by about 37,000 by 2036. This includes an additional 10,500 affordable rental dwellings.

“In a housing crisis, the best and most financially responsible thing to do is build the projects that will deliver the most affordable homes first,” the Lord Mayor said.

“There are over 1,070 affordable rental housing dwellings in the local area. The City has achieved this through levies, amended planning controls, discounted property sales, and the Affordable and the Diverse Housing Fund for new projects.

“A further 629 units are in the pipeline, and we continue to push the State Government to increase affordable housing in the proposed Waterloo Estate redevelopment and across the City.

“Last year we opened 99 affordable housing units alongside 153 social housing units in Glebe, and work is well underway on 160 new social and affordable homes on a former council depot in Redfern.

Bridge Housing Chief Executive Officer John Nicolades said: “Bridge Housing is delighted to work with City of Sydney to deliver more affordable housing and assist the Council deliver on its Housing for All strategy. The City of Sydney provides significant local government leadership in NSW and Australia in its approach to the delivery of affordable housing.”

For media inquiries or images, contact Diana Kosanovic. Phone 9246 7292 or email [email protected]

For interviews with Lord Mayor Clover Moore, contact Trisha Croaker Phone 0418 397 462 or email [email protected]