No parking: Scooter bays for NRAS tenants in Perth’s Abode apartments
A new $30.5 million affordable housing project in West Perth has no parking, but does offer scooter bays for buyers and tenants.
The Abode apartment project is a public-private partnership called a “new breed” of project bringing inner city affordable housing to help reduce urban sprawl. This is part of the Affordable Housing Strategy 2010 to 2020: Opening Doors to Affordable Housing and saw the Department of Housing provide the land, worth $4.5 million.
It is located near to Harold Boas Gardens, and designed by Perth-based architectural firm Jones Coulter Young.
The 6 Campbell Street apartment project achieved all pre-sales targets by February 2013 and was completely sold by July 2014, with a number of units kept aside for affordable housing initiatives.
This included 10 apartments retained for those with social housing eligibility and another 15 to house those under the Western Australian government’s shared equity home ownership program and tenants renting under NRAS. This covers a total of one third of the apartments.
In total, 86 apartments are being built across 10 storeys, including a number of one bedroom units with scooter bays.
The full price for the apartments was $333,000. Shared equity prices were brought down to $285,000. Some will have views of Perth’s city skyline.
Housing Minister Bill Marmion said that it is just the second project where the state government has joined with developer Diploma Properties.
“Rather than being a passive seller of the land, the government has been an active equity partner, effectively leveraging more than $70 million in private sector investment, firstly for the One on Aberdeen project and now with the Abode apartments,” said Marmion.
Blackburne Property Group, who had previously been marketing the apartments, noted that local one bedroom, one bathroom apartments could achieve $580 to $650 per week rent furnished, or $500 to $550 unfurnished. The median unit price in West Perth, according to RP Data, is $535,000.
Construction is expected to be completed in March 2015, although earlier estimates were for mid-2014.