Proof private owners and social housing tenants can live side by side: Chris Johnson
GUEST OBSERVER
The announcement by the Minister for Social Housing Brad Hazzard that the Riverwood social housing estate will be renewed with a mix of private, social and affordable housing demonstrates the value of Private Public Partnerships.
The recently completed mix of social and market housing at Riverwood delivered by Urban Taskforce member PAYCE Consolidated demonstrates how the same quality of building can house a mixture of private owners and social housing tenants.
The social housing component is managed by St George Community Housing who are also a member of the Urban Taskforce.
The scale of development at Riverwood is particularly large with around 1,600 new social and affordable housing that are expected to be funded by an even greater number of private sector homes spread across a 30.5 hectare site.
Precinct wide developments like this are a good use of Private Public Partnerships as the innovation of the private sector is maximised, financial returns for the developer and investor are secured, while balanced by the provision of community amenities, services and infrastructure.
It will be important to have a realistic tendering process that respects the input of the private sector rather than having a process that is overly prescriptive. The private sector may well have ideas about site layouts, construction methods, materials and the design of the public spaces that are innovative and these innovative approaches need to be encouraged.
The Urban Taskforce is supportive of the renewal process being driven by Minister Hazzard and the Government’s approach of opening the process to private sector innovation.
Chris Johnson is chief executive officer of property development industry group Urban Taskforce and can be contacted here.
