Social housing and disability living towers set to change skyline
LOS ANGELES: Newly approved towers will add thousands of people to the CBD and contribute to an emerging trend in which one in three new apartments will be social disability or affordable housing.
One of the two developments — a 30-storey project on Roe Street set for completion in late 2028 or early 2029 — will deliver 174 dwellings under a build-to-rent model, including 139 affordable rentals and 35 social homes.
It comes as new research by Urbis forecasts that one-third, or 32 per cent, of the 2500 apartment completions expected in Greater Perth in 2028 will be social or affordable housing.
The Roe Street development, which will be built by Icon Construction, is one of 14 build-to-rent apartment projects DevelopmentWA is leading on behalf of the State Government.
Designed by architecture firm MJA to meet silver-level accessibility standards and achieve an average 7-star Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme rating, it will bring hundreds of new residents into the city.
Social and affordable housing provides subsidised rental options for individuals and families on certain income levels who are unable to compete in the private rental market.
The second newly approved project in the City Link precinct, being developed by Sirona Urban, is set on Telethon Avenue.
The approval will allow Sirona to proceed with a 33-storey student accommodation tower with shops, cafes and restaurants on the ground floor.
The project is set to deliver 854 student beds, adding nearly 40 per cent to the 2225 beds already in the city’s dedicated student accommodation towers.
These buildings include the 736-bed UniLodge tower, the 573-bed Yugo tower and the 916-bed Campus Perth.
Recent research shows there are already more beds in dedicated student accommodation towers than retail shops between East Perth and West Perth.
It is noted that the 420-bed co-living centre The Switch and the 211-bed Juno House also house many students but are not deemed dedicated student accommodation.
Planning and Lands Minister John Carey said the State Government had spent $10.8 billion on housing measures since 2021.
“The Roe Street development will provide more affordable housing options in the city as part of our investment in an unprecedented number of build-to-rent projects,” he said.
“ECU City Campus has spurred a student accommodation boom, and Sirona’s project will help meet this demand.
“We want to see more people living in the heart of our city, and both of these developments will make a significant contribution to that.”
Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results show affordability is in strong demand in the private market, too.
March-quarter apartment sales were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard, by SKS Group, recording 115 sales. It was only the second time a single project had surpassed 100 quarterly sales. Finbar’s Palmyra West recorded 28 sales in the first quarter, following 84 sales in the preceding period, with an average price of less than $800,000.
Downsizer demand continued at the premium end, with Finbar’s Romeo project in Applecross recording 75 sales, almost half the building, in the quarter.
Celsius Property’s Jual in Shenton Park sold 28 apartments, representing 39 per cent of the building. The Urbis research notes that a key problem for developers is the difficulty of securing a builder at a price that makes a project feasible.
Construction costs and delivery risk are now deemed central constraints, with build costs remaining elevated and volatile.