Nearly 700 new homes for Oaklands Park in SA’s largest social housing project in decades

Construction has started on hundreds of social houses and homes for private sale in what the state government says is SA’s largest social housing project in decades.

About 700 new homes will be built in Adelaide's south in a $200m project to create SA’s largest social housing project in decades, the state government says.

The 16.5ha site in Oaklands Park – previously home to 255 SA Housing Trust homes built in the 1950s – will be transformed into a new community called Oaklands Green.

It will include 235 new social housing homes, 20 public houses and more than 450 market-ready homes.

At least 15 per cent of the private homes will be sold through the state government’s HomeSeeker initiative at an affordable housing price.

It comes as The Advertiser on Monday mapped the more-than 23,000 new homes announced over the past few years to be built in SA.

Rivergum Homes has started work on the first 28 of the one- and two-storey social housing homes, built for the SA Housing Authority and managed by not-for-profit community housing provider Junction.

Artist impressions of the homes under construction at Oaklands Green, the new social housing community in Adelaide's south.

An artist impression of homes under construction at the new social housing project called Oaklands Green in Adelaide's south.

Housing Renewal Australia chair and Junction deputy chair Trevor Cooke said Oaklands Green set a new national benchmark for delivering social housing between governments and socially responsible investors.

“We are hopeful that it can be a model for future development of affordable and social housing in South Australia,” he said.

“For every two residences being built for the open market at Oaklands Green, one will be developed as social housing and provided back to the state under the management of Junction.”

The Oaklands Park Renewal Project centres on land between Barry Rd and Bombay and Doreen streets adjacent the electrified Seaford train line.

A joint partnership between SA Housing Authority, Junction and SA developer Housing Renewal Australia Oaklands Park, Oaklands Green would be the largest consolidated housing renewal project since Westwood in the early 2000s.

The Oaklands Green development map.

A map of the $200m Oaklands Green community.

The state government said profits from the market-ready housing sales would be used by HRA OP to fund infrastructure and replace the 255 public houses previously on the site at no capital cost to taxpayers.

It will create what is believed to be Australia’s first social housing project led by private funds, with a partner in Junction.

HRA OP will fund the additional 20 public houses, which will be state-owned and managed. The social housing will be managed by Junction for a 25-year period and owned by the state government.

Social housing options will include apartments and detached dwellings, providing choice for singles to families.

The project will be staged over eight years, with sales of the first three stages under way. Stage 1 and 2A at Oaklands Green are sold out.

An aerial shot of the site, where homes are now under construction.

Green space in Rajah Reserve would be doubled under the project and other open spaces included in a reserve between stage 1a and 1b.

New roads, laneways and sewer and stormwater infrastructure will also be built.

Human Services Minister Nat Cook said the project has been long-anticipated.

“Oaklands Park renewal is part of building a strong community while offering choice and diversity in housing,” she said.

“We are modernising affordable and social housing neighbourhoods.”

SA Housing Authority chief financial officer Nick Symons said: “We are confident that partnerships such as these can continue to provide social housing, as well as increase the supply of housing to the market, at a time of critical housing shortage.”