SJB has devised a 52-unit affordable housing project for Nightingale and Fresh Hope, which could prove the catalyst to unlocking land across NSW amidst the housing crisis.
The development was made possible via the Church of Christ and their company Fresh Hope Communities, who assisted Nightingale in developing the site. Inner West Council hopes that potential incentives could be made to other religious entities to construct residential developments that would assist in combating the housing crisis.
“There is a huge amount of church-owned land across inner-city Sydney in particular, and we should be making it easy for churches and religious charities to do the right thing and convert that land into not-for-profit housing,” says Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
“If we get the system right, this could literally result in thousands of low-cost rental dwellings being made available where they are most needed. This social justice goal of homes for lower income people is a way of adhering to Jesus’ message in contemporary Sydney,”
Nightingale Marrickville is a 100 percent build-to-rent project, offering rates at 25 percent lower than market value to combat the housing crisis. The Telihaus apartments are space-efficient and small footprint, with shared spaces for laundry, gardening, dining and socialising to also be created as part of the build.
Nightingale’s debut Sydney project, the developer had been looking to create an affordable multi-residential project in the harbour city, but had experienced issues with the price of land. Fresh Hope Communities unlocked the parcel and ‘repositioned’ it, in a bid to assist the community, as per its mantra.
“We’re using this as a pilot to show these (religious) groups that we are in a housing crisis, and people are struggling, and how should we use these assets? They should repurpose them, not sell them off,” says Nightingale Chief Executive Dan McKenna.
For more information regarding the project, click here.
