Salvation Army starts work on $17m social housing project in Toowoomba CBD, thanks to state government funding
With more than 1400 people currently waiting for social housing in Toowoomba, construction has started on a new $17m CBD project that hopes to ease the pressure.
Development
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Construction has started on a long-awaited social housing project in the Toowoomba CBD, which looks set be the first of several developments in the pipeline for the region.
In a major boost to the city’s drastically-short supply of affordable housing, the Salvation Army officially broke ground on its planned 23-unit project on Snell Street, diagonally opposite from Betros Bros and a short walk from Grand Central Shopping Centre.
The $17m project, partially funded through the state government and being constructed by local contractors McNab, will include 19 one-bedroom dwellings and four two-bedroom units for residents needing immediate access to housing.
It’s a major update in a project that has been floated by the charity for several years, with the development actually approved through the state government’s ministerial infrastructure designation (MID) process.
Salvos Queensland divisional commander Major Mark Everitt said tenants would be given direct access to services to transition them into longer-term housing.
“It’s land the Salvation Army owned, it wasn’t serving us well with a factory being there, and the idea of a partnership (with the government) was a very clear path, because we can’t possibly fund huge projects like this,” he said at the launch on Friday.
“The Salvos like helping people directly, but this is a roof over their heads and we still wrap services around them and offer them as much as they can to find their permanent house.
“We’d love to give them a great home, but when it’s a crisis, finding a permanent home is the goal for everyone to have.”
It comes as other charities and support services like Brisbane Housing Company, Full Circle Projects and St Vincent de Paul’s continue to advance social housing developments across Toowoomba.
The pipeline of projects, estimated to be worth about 200 dwellings, will try to reduce the waitlist for housing support in Toowoomba that currently sits at more than 1400 people.
Another project in Newtown by Mission Australia, which has attracted controversy recently, will also be bypassing the Toowoomba Regional Council to secure a government MID approval.
Assistant housing minister Ali King, who also helped launch construction on Snell Street, said the MID process was helping to fast-track affordable and low-income accommodation to market.
“We are unlocking land that the community needs and finding pathways to turn that land into housing for Queensland,” she said.
“One of the wonderful things about this development is it’s so well located, right in the heart of Toowoomba, near services important to people.
“(The MID process) is a really important pathway we’ve developed to get more land unlocked.”
McNab marketing and sales group general manager Steve Kelk said more than 70 locals would be working on the Salvos project at its peak.
“It’s something we love doing and something we’re proud of,” he said.
The development is expected to be finished by the middle of next year.
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