Emma Pritchard|
A vacant paddock in Bimble Avenue, South Grafton, is set to be transformed by a historic new investment with construction on a $4.1 million housing development scheduled to begin as early as March next year.
Partly funded by the NSW Government’s Community Housing Innovation Fund and North Coast Community Housing (NCCH), the project will see 12 two-bedroom and 12 single bedroom houses form a mixed tenure estate.
CEO of NCCH John McKenna revealed the development will feature social housing and affordable housing for rent.
Between seven and nine houses will be social, six will potentially be available for sale and the remaining houses will be rented at affordable prices.
With close to 500 people on the housing wait list in the Clarence Valley, Mr McKenna said more needs to be done to reduce the housing shortage and the impact on families who are waiting between five to 10 years on average for a house.
Describing himself as extremely happy with the development of the Bimble Avenue site, Mr McKenna said it can’t be seen as a one-off project.
Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis said the project is the biggest step towards addressing the housing shortage in the Clarence Valley he has seen in 10 years.
“Not everyone can afford a mortgage, but everyone deserves a home and that is what prompted this historic new investment announced in this year’s State Budget,” he said.