Billbergia Tackles Housing Supply in $1.3bn Blitz

The prolific Sydney developer has inked a partnership with Homes NSW to deliver 1300 new homes across Greater Sydney in the next two years, but says more government land needs to be unlocked to address critical housing shortages. 

Billbergia’s pipeline of work would accommodate about 3000 people, including those seeking social and affordable housing, across three mixed-tenure developments at Lidcombe, West Ryde and Arncliffe. 

All three sites were funded and delivered by Billbergia on NSW Government sites next to transport hubs and were the result of a tri-party agreement between the developer, Homes NSW and community housing providers Evolve Housing Group and St George Community Housing (SGCH). 

Construction is under way on the four-tower 804-apartment project at Arncliffe Central, which is reportedly the largest mixed-tenure housing development to date, in partnership with Evolve and SGCH. 

The towers would rise above a retail podium and new public park, childcare centre, and a community centre and library, with 196 homes dedicated to social housing. An additional 406 affordable and essential worker rental homes could be added to this subsequent to further government support.

The projects set ambitious targets for social and affordable housing delivery with 41 per cent of apartments at Lidcombe Rise, 20 per cent at The Parade at West Ryde, and almost 75 per cent of apartments at Arncliffe Central dedicated to social and affordable housing, and key worker housing. 

Homes NSW chief executive Rebecca Pinkstone said innovative public and private partnerships were helping to address the critical housing shortage across Greater Sydney. 

“In tackling the housing crisis head-on, projects like Lidcombe Rise, The Parade, and now Arncliffe Central mark significant progress and demonstrate our commitment to fostering vibrant, inclusive communities with accessible housing options for all,” Pinkstone said. 

▲ Arncliffe Central, a four-tower, 804-apartment development is being touted as the biggest mixed-tenure project in NSW.

Billbergia development director Rick Graf said mixed-tenure developments were a “crucial step forward” in addressing housing inequality. 

“The ability to deploy government land assets for redevelopment makes it uniquely feasible to deliver high-quality social, affordable, and private-market homes at scale, helping to address the housing shortage,” Graf said. 

“Our partnerships with Homes NSW, Evolve Housing and St George Community Housing allow us to redevelop government land into thriving and highly connected mixed-tenure communities.”

Evolve Housing chief executive Lyall Gorman said the three major partnerships with Billbergia and Homes NSW enabled the CHP to take steps forward in addressing the shortages of social and affordable housing in the Sydney basin. 

“It’s allowed us to provide brand-new dwellings to people who, in some cases, have been waiting for years to access fit-for-purpose housing,” Gorman said. 

“It is rewarding to see so many people in homes that are secure and well-located, thanks to projects like these.”

The state’s largest tier-one community-housing provider, St George Community Housing, is also embracing the partnership opportunities. 

Chief executive Scott Langford said the Billbergia partnership would deliver more diverse and affordable homes at Arncliffe Central.

“We embrace partnerships with trustworthy developers and builders to deliver more homes for more people in locations well serviced by public transport,” Langford said. 

Billbergia’s Rick Graf said deploying further government-owned land would “accelerate mixed-tenure supply from a trickle to a torrent for the greater good of the NSW community”.