A builder has been selected to construct a 160-apartment development for one of Australia’s largest community housing organisations, St George Community Housing (SGCH).
Lendlease has worked closely with SGCH over the last seven months and was awarded the contract to provide to design, manage and build the project, located in Redfern, Sydney.
The 18-storey building has been approved as a State Significant Development and will be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, a ground floor commercial space and a café. The ground floor will also feature a community hub for a range of activities and services for locals, as well as a new SGCH office.
SGCH and DKO Architecture have worked with the NSW Government through the Design Excellence process in the hopes of ensuring the best design outcomes for the site.
The development will take a tenure blind approach, meaning there will be no distinction between the design and quality of the affordable social housing.
Related stories:
- Lendlease tops out $750M Melbourne commercial tower
- Sydney builder wins contract to construct 184 townhouses
- Melbourne Quarter Tower’s billion dollar plans approved
SGCH has also worked with the Boomali Aboriginal Artists Co-Op to incorporate Aboriginal art into the building, including the brick façade, lobby and communal open space.
It will include a number of sustainability initiatives and targets, including an 8-star NatHERs rating including energy efficient unit design, solar panels and battery storage, and WELS rated fixtures to conserve water usage.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is financing SGCH through an existing finance facility commitment of up to $170 million, to help deliver 500 units of new energy efficient housing.
Lendlease CEO Building Dale Connor said the development is the first project of scale for Lendlease in the social and affordable housing sector.
“We know that housing affordability is a top priority and a challenge that will take a collaborative approach to solve,” he said.
“The project is a great opportunity to partner with SGCH to define what affordable housing looks like in Australia today and partner to co-create what affordable housing could look like in the future.”
SCGH CEO Scott Langford said the award of the contract is a milestone that brings together the global expertise of Lendlease with SGCH’s local market leading expertise in social and affordable housing.
“We are partnering with Lendlease on this flagship development based upon a shared commitment to the local community creating great places for everyone,” Langford said.
Lendlease recognise our project sits within a context of change in the area and have committed local industry participation goals and indigenous employment and engagement through the construction.
“We are building for the long term and delivering strong environmental, social and
economic outcomes in Redfern.”