Assemble, Samma’s Ivanhoe HAFF-Backed BtR Under Way

Shovels have hit dirt on a 435-home build-to-rent development at Ivanhoe, marking one of Victoria’s largest Housing Australia Future Fund-backed projects to commence construction.

The project at 87–131 Bell Street is being delivered in partnership by affordable housing specialist Assemble and Melbourne-based Samma Property Group.

More than 300 of the 435 apartments will be offered as affordable homes, supported by Housing Australia through its Housing Australia Future Fund Facility.

Construction is expected to be completed in mid-2028.

The three-tower  Bell Street development, rising up to 16 storeys, will comprise a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments, delivered as professionally managed, long-term rental housing. 

The site is within walking distance of the Austin Hospital and the broader Heidelberg medical precinct, including the Heidelberg Repatriation and Warringal Private hospitals.

The completed asset will be owned by industry super funds AustralianSuper and HESTA, and debt finance provided by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia alongside Housing Australia. Community housing provider Housing Choices Australia will partner with Assemble to manage the affordable homes.

Assemble chief executive Carolyn Viney said the HAFF funding had enabled the team to increase the number of affordable homes within the project, underscoring the growing role of blended capital in unlocking large-scale rental supply. 

“[The project] demonstrates Assemble’s unique partnering approach, which enables industry partners to work alongside government ... to deliver housing at scale,” Viney said.

▲ Samma Property Group's Simon Abdelmalak, Chris Cowan and Daniel Abdelmalak with Carolyn Viney, Assemble chief executive.

The development is part of Assemble’s broader strategy to deliver 17,000 homes by 2034, including social and affordable housing delivered in partnership with community housing providers.

HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey said the investment aligned with the fund’s membership base in the health and community services sectors.

“This is a major investment that will deliver hundreds of new affordable homes, supporting HESTA’s efforts to deliver stable long-term returns to members while helping address one of Australia’s biggest challenges,” Blakey said.

“Many of our members provide critical health and community services and need affordable housing near their work and public transport, which is why projects like 119 Bell Street are so important.”

Samma Property Group, which completed the 142-apartment first stage of its Bell Street precinct in 2023, described the second stage as a critical boost to affordable housing supply at Ivanhoe.

▲ Hacer has been tapped to build the significant build-to-rent project.

The group has appointed Hacer as head contractor, continuing its relationship with the builder. Early stage capital support for the project was provided by Pioneer Wealth, a private credit manager specialising in real estate-backed lending.

Housing Choices Australia interim chief executive Michael Lennon said the project “will deliver hundreds of secure, affordable homes in well-connected locations, providing stability and opportunity for families who need it most”.

With three towers rising in Melbourne’s north-east and more than 300 affordable homes locked in, the Ivanhoe development represents a tangible test case for the Housing Australia Future Fund’s ability to crowd in institutional capital and accelerate rental supply at scale.

Also in Ivanhoe this week, Melbourne-based developer PDG was appointed to build 275 homes on surplus government land, the site of a former water tank, at 421 Upper Heidelberg Road, about 9km north-east of the CBD. 

And in August, a 58-apartment seniors living proposal for the blue-ribbon suburb was greenlit.

Villa Maria Catholic Homes (VMCH) received ministerial planning approval for its St Francis on the Park project at Ivanhoe East.

The organisation filed planning applications for the site in 2022, initially proposing a five-storey, 56-apartment development valued at $35 million before revising and filing the now-approved scheme.