If you’ve spent any time in Waterloo in recent months, you’ll have noticed that there are some major developments underway – with the huge new metro station at the centre of what appears to be a suburb-spanning construction site. The redevelopment of Waterloo is part of the NSW government’s mission to tackle the NSW housing crisis, with the inner-city suburb set to welcome the largest social and affordable housing project in the country over the next ten to 15 years. Here’s what we know so far about the redevelopment of Waterloo Estate.
As it stands, Waterloo Estate is one of the largest social housing estates in the country, and as part of the government’s recently announced $6.6 billion investment in social and affordable housing, it’s set to be transformed over the next few years to become more liveable and provide a lot more easily-accessible affordable housing and become officially the largest social housing project in Australia.
Homes NSW and the delivery partners say they will prioritise initiatives that help foster vibrant and mixed inner-city communities that have a genuine sense of place. Member for Heffron, Ron Hoenig says, “I have been fighting to improve the conditions of my constituents living in Waterloo Estate for more than a decade. The most important thing for me has always been ensuring the more vulnerable members of our community can live in safe and healthy homes.
“This announcement brings us a step closer to vastly improving the quality of life for these residents, many of whom have lived in their homes for many years."
The project has just reached a major milestone – with delivery partners for the first stage of the redevelopment (Waterloo South) publicly confirmed. Property development company Stockland will work with Link Wentworth Housing, City West Housing, and community housing provider Birribee to deliver the government-led renewal of Waterloo, with Waterloo South being the first area of focus.
Currently the site of 750 old public homes, Waterloo South will be redeveloped and expanded to house more than double the amount of residences – 50 per cent of which will be social and affordable housing. The mixed-tenure Waterloo South project will deliver approximately 3,000 new well-designed, fit-for-purpose homes (that’s around 1,500 social and affordable homes) along with new facilities, retail precincts, and public open spaces. Now that the partners for the project have been confirmed, Homes NSW will begin mapping out the next ten to 15 years of work, which will gradually replace out the older public housing precincts in the area with new, more liveable communities.
If you’re a Waterloo resident, you're probably wondering how the staged relocation process will affect you. According to the government, “all impacted residents will be given at least six months’ notice before having to move” and will be provided with “dedicated support”. The government has also said that all residents “will be given the right to return when the renewal is complete”, with Member for Heffron, Ron Hoenig explaining “we are making sure these residents are given every right to return to their new homes once the renewal is complete so they can maintain these community ties”.
Once complete, the redeveloped suburb will be Australia’s largest ever social housing project – home to modern, well-connected homes in-line with the government’s plans to support Sydney’s growing population while maintaining existing communities.
You can learn more about the redevelopment of Waterloo over here.
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