As demand for affordable housing increases, the City of Melbourne Council has voted to lease two sites for projects that will increase supply.
In its meeting on April 30, the city council voted unanimously to start community engagement on leasing 44-60 Curzon Street at North Melbourne and 325-341 Victoria Street at West Melbourne for affordable housing projects.
Both sites are currently car parks that combined generate annual revenue of $95,000.
Council management has estimated that the City of Melbourne has a current shortfall of 6000 affordable housing units with concerns that this will increase to 27,000 by 2036.
Among recommendations by a People’s Panel on affordable housing held earlier this year and accepted by the council was that government land should be used for affordable housing.
Parking reviews were also undertaken in 2021 and 2022 at the sites and community engagement around the Curzon site carried out in 2022.
Council documents show that since then housing affordability has declined with wages growing by only 4.2 per cent while rents grew by 15.2 per cent over the 12 months to December, 2023.
A key worker housing definition was also endorsed by council in early April, 2024, to help advocate for housing for low income workers.
The council has previously leased land for social and affordable housing including the Make Room project at 602 Little Bourke Street.
It has also sold land for such purposes, including the Munro and Boyd South Development Site.
The first priority listed in the Affordable Housing Strategy 2020 is to have a council-owned site leased to a community housing provider by 2025.
If the city decided to proced with the plan once community engagement is completed, a competitive process to choose a community housing provider will be undertaken.
The City of Melbourne council will provide funding for community engagement and the tenant selection process.
There will be no funding provided for the construction or operation of any affordable housing projects on these sites with the council’s financial contribution limited to offering the lease at a nominal rent.
