Housing Affordability Election Battle Comes to Carseldine

“Make Housing Affordability Great Again” could well be the key political slogan for next month’s Queensland election.

The target, on both sides of the political fence, is to deliver a million homes—either by 2046 or a couple of years earlier.

In the latest pre-poll posturing, Queensland Premier Steven Miles has unveiled plans for 152 social and affordable homes at Carseldine on Brisbane’s northside.

The housing project is proposed as part of the urban renewal of the former Queensland University of Technology Carseldine campus within the Fitzgibbon Priority Development Area, 12km from the CBD.

The redevelopment of the 42ha site is a joint venture between the Economic Development Queensland and the private sector.

Carseldine Village, as it is known, is envisioned as a 5-Star Green Star community.

Its social and affordable housing component is to be delivered through a partnership with St George Community Housing Limited as owner and developer, and Bric Housing as the appointed operator.

In January, developer De Luca Corporation filed plans comprising 4600sq m of retail, commercial and lifestyle uses as part of the first stage of a $40-million Village Heart.

Development is expected to start in November, creating 65 jobs during construction and 140 ongoing jobs on completion.

▲ Renders of the proposed Carseldine Village Heart on Brisbane’s northside.

Later stages of the Village Heart are proposed to include about 200 build-to-sell apartments to add further housing diversity.

“We need to build more homes in the areas Queenslanders want to live—that means close to public transport, healthcare and amenities,” Miles said.

“In partnership with the community housing sector, we will deliver exactly that in the heart of Carseldine. This $87-million development includes plans for 152 social and affordable homes, set to be delivered in 2026.”

State Development and Infrastructure Minister Grace Grace said Carseldine Village was a bold and sustainable step forward in unlocking more land to increase housing supply.

“This development not only addresses the critical need for social and affordable housing but also sets a new standard in sustainable living with its 5-Star Green Star credentials across a range of developments, including the new Village Heart,” she said.

In 2016, the Queensland government identified the former campus, which has been closed since 2008, as “under-utilised government land” and slated it for an urban village that has since been designated to provide 606 homes.

The first concrete slabs were poured in 2021 for Stage One of the village, a community of net zero energy emission terrace-style homes.