More than 100 families on lower incomes have moved into Green Square’s fast-growing town centre, following the opening of a major new affordable housing development.
The City of Sydney and affordable housing provider City West Housing rolled out the welcome mat for the new residents at a party on the weekend, encouraging locals to get to know their new neighbours in the Green Square community.
Essential workers on lower wages, including teachers, hospital staff, police officers and labourers, have moved into 104 units at the Exordium Apartments at the corner of Portman and Hansard streets in Zetland.
The apartments are located on the former South Sydney Hospital site, which is being developed into a thriving creative hub, childcare centre and park with children’s playground.
The City West Housing residents are the first of more than 7,500 people who will eventually move into the town centre, a 13-hectare precinct in the heart of the Green Square development.
For Vanessa, an inner-city adult education and outreach worker with two children, finding out she had secured an apartment in the development was like “winning the lotto”.
“It’s a dream come true to be living somewhere that’s close to my work and my children’s school, where the rent is controlled, and the kids can have their own room,” Vanessa said.
“Green Square is a high-density area, but there’s also so much open space – the parks are stunning, the East Village shopping centre is nearby, and soon there will be an aquatic centre right across the road.
“I’m grateful to City West Housing and the City of Sydney for their hard work and support helping families like mine access affordable housing in the inner city.
“We’re now looking forward to the future developments in this area, and to building our own future here.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore welcomed the new residents to their homes, just four kilometres from the city centre.
“Rising rents and house prices make the City of Sydney area an increasingly difficult place to live and raise a family for workers on lower incomes,” the Lord Mayor said.
“If these essential workers can’t find affordable housing close to their jobs in the city, they’ll move away from the area and seek work closer to their new homes – meaning we’ll lose their valuable skills.
“By working with City West Housing to negotiate contributions from developers across the Green Square area, we’ve been able to meet most of the $41 million cost of this project.
“As a result, we’re helping give more than 100 lower income families a fantastic new home in one of Sydney’s most dynamic new neighbourhoods, close to the city and within walking distance of world-class community facilities, dining, shopping and public transport.”
The new development features 104 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, 15 per cent of which are adaptable for elderly tenants or tenants living with a disability. The development also includes communal gardens and BBQ areas, a small café and car and bike parking spaces.
The residents will pay between 25 and 30 per cent of their income on rent, with the proportion increasing according to household income.
City West Housing CEO Janelle Goulding said: “The vision for the development was to create a high quality and sophisticated contemporary building that sits comfortably and respectfully in its surroundings.
“The Exordium Apartments provides a mix of residential dwellings to help support the ever-increasing demand for affordable rental accommodation in Sydney”.
City West Housing is a not-for-profit organisation set up by the NSW Government in 1994 to provide quality, affordable accommodation for workers in the City of Sydney local government area.
The City’s affordable housing levy program in Green Square has now seen more than 200 affordable rental housing units built in the area, with an eventual target of 330.
The City has committed $540 million over the next 10 years on extensive infrastructure and streetscaping works throughout the Green Square town centre, as well as new community facilities including an aquatic centre, library and plaza, childcare centre, creative hub and more than 15new parks and open spaces.
The 278-hectare Green Square development area includes the suburbs of Beaconsfield and Zetland, and parts of Rosebery, Alexandria and Waterloo.
The area will eventually have 30,500 new dwellings, including about 10,000 now under assessment or construction. When fully completed, Green Square will have a population of up to 61,000 people, and provide around 21,000 permanent jobs – many of which will be in the new town centre.
Media contacts
City of Sydney – Keeley Irvin on 0448 005 718 or kirvin@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Lord Mayor Clover Moore – Matt Levinson on 0499 319 385 or mlevinson@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
City West Housing – Emma Kirkaldy on 0406 025 771 or emma@polkadotpr.com.au