$135m plan to demolish 250 houses at Oaklands Park and build 650 in their place
More than 250 Housing SA homes in Oaklands Park will be demolished and replaced with 650 properties – some up to four storeys high – in a $135 million plan to transform the suburb.
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More than 650 houses will be built at Oaklands Park as part of a $135 million “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to transform the suburb.
The State Government has released images of the Oaklands Green project, in which more than 250 rundown Housing SA properties will be demolished and replaced.
A further 400 homes – some in buildings up to four storeys high – will also be built in the 16ha area bounded by Warradale Barracks, Barry Rd, Bombay St and Doreen St.
Public infrastructure will be improved, including roads and footpaths, and more green spaces and walking trails created.
The project is a partnership between the government, Housing Renewal Australia Oaklands Park and community service provider Junction Australia. Construction is set to start in early 2021 with the first home completed late that year.
Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said the project would boost the economy, create jobs and help people on low and moderate incomes enter the housing market.
“Oaklands Green will provide an ongoing pipeline of work over the next eight years for the housing building and construction industry and support an estimated 1215 direct jobs over the life of the project,” she said.
Ms Lensink said that pocket of Oaklands Park had 1950s public housing on “huge blocks of land”.
“This development provides better housing choices for South Australians, from those looking for their first home, to those downsizing, to those ageing in place,” she said.
“This project will be funded through land sales in stages, so we will see the public benefit of new social housing and more affordable housing at no capital cost to taxpayers. Importantly, it will mean no loss of social housing – the number of properties will remain at 267 after this development.”
Housing Renewal Australia project director Geoff Smith said that, from the outset, the organisation aimed to deliver one-for-one social housing replacements.