Calls for social housing to be built on prized land in the middle of Kew

The two modernist towers served Victoria’s road authorities as headquarters for six decades. Now abandoned, they stand on a busy corner in Melbourne’s inner east, waiting to go the way of the train station that was demolished to make way for them in 1957.

With Australia in the grip of a generational housing crisis, one federal MP says the now-disused land in Kew must be redeveloped for social and affordable housing.

The former VicRoads offices in Kew.Credit: Paul Jeffers

VicRoads’ Denmark Street offices opened in 1961 in the two buildings, one of which rises to seven levels. Staff at the offices were told last year that the buildings were no longer fit for purpose and workers would relocate from November 2023 to February 2024, at which point the Kew site would be closed.

The main office is now fenced off and the only sign of any life at the site on Friday was a handful of VicRoads vehicles parked at a rear entrance. A security guard said there was no longer public access to the 2.5-hectare property.

The state government has been silent about the fate of the land. On Friday, a spokesman said only that options for the site were being explored “with a clear focus on maximising value for the community”.

But Monique Ryan, the MP for Kooyong, will tell federal parliament in the coming days that the housing crisis has worsened because politicians are not backing specific housing projects within their electorates.

Kooyong MP Monique Ryan at the Kew site on Friday morning.Credit: Paul Jeffers

“Politicians are happy to talk about big housing construction targets, but then stay silent – or oppose – housing projects in their own electorates for their own political self-interest,” Ryan said. “That has to change. Politicians have to start showing up: we must start supporting local housing projects.”

The Kew site is bordered by Denmark and Wellington streets to its west and north, while private school Xavier College’s tennis courts, athletics track and cricket oval run along its eastern side.

Xavier was approached for comment in response to Ryan’s call for affordable housing on the site, but its spokesman did not respond.

The Allan government promised last year to oversee the construction of 80,000 new homes a year over the next decade in an effort to tackle Victoria’s housing crisis.

Housing Minister Harriet Shing was questioned this month by the ABC’s Raf Epstein about the target. Asked twice whether 80,000 homes a year could be built, Shing responded each time that 800,000 homes in a decade was “doable”.

Despite ambitious promises by both the state and federal governments on housing, about 10,000 people have been added to Victoria’s social housing waiting list this decade and more than 60,000 were on a waiting list as of June last year. Those who already own homes are also struggling. The Reserve Bank last week revealed that one in 20 borrowers were finding it difficult to repay their mortgage.

While little land of the scale of the VicRoads site comes up for sale in Kew, Domain’s Price Per Square Metre Report valued land in the suburb with housing on it at $4791 per square metre.

Using this metric, VicRoads’ 26,040-square metre site would be valued at about $124.7 million.

State Liberal MP for Kew Jess Wilson said Jacinta Allan’s government was “desperate for cash given the dire state of Victoria’s finances and record debt” and that meant there was a danger the prime site would be simply sold to a developer without proper forethought.

“The Allan government needs to be upfront about its plans for the VicRoads site,” she said.

Former Victorian premier Denis Napthine promised to sell the land in 2014 but lost office later that year before his plan could be enacted. It followed earlier speculation over its sale in 2010 when The Age and others reported on a feasibility study to sell the land. At the time, it was valued about $75 million. A 2009 structure plan produced by Boroondara council said apartment and office buildings up to five storeys would be suitable for the site.

Ryan said that while the site was on a busy arterial road, it was also in a residential area, and one of its neighbours was a prestigious private school.

“A large housing development would likely face opposition from some quarters,” she said.

Housing in the federal electorate is likely to be a key battleground. Amelia Hamer, the newly selected Liberal candidate for Kooyong, said on Saturday that she would “fight to put home ownership back on the agenda for young Australians by tackling housing affordability and cost-of-living pressures”.

The Kew offices in 1961 on their opening day. The buildings housed VicRoads’ predecessor, the Country Roads Board.Credit: The Age

A Boroondara Council spokesman said the site would be “an excellent site for residential redevelopment” and that options could include public and affordable housing.

“Any development proposal must provide adequate community open space, access to sustainable transport such as bicycle links, and offer commercial opportunities,” he said.