Construction is set to begin on more than 2000 community homes across Melbourne and regional Victoria, as part of the first stage of the state government’s $5.3 billion social housing blitz.
Housing Minister Richard Wynne on Friday announced $1 billion will be spent on 89 community housing projects, creating 2352 homes for those most in need.
This includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians, people living with mental illness or disability, those escaping family violence and the homeless.
The projects, located across 38 local government areas, range from a 152-home development in Melbourne to several two-home developments in regional areas including Ballarat, Bendigo Shepparton, Wodonga and Warrnambool.
Construction will begin by end of the year, with the state government chipping in $740 million and the remainder coming from 22 community housing agencies.
Mr Wynne said 9000 jobs will be created by the construction blitz.
“This is so much more than a construction project – it’s a safe place to call home, training and apprenticeship opportunities and thousands of local jobs,” he said in a statement.
The $5.3 billion Big Housing Build was announced by the state government late last year to fund 12,000 new social and affordable homes in four years.
Once complete, the homes will boost the state’s housing supply by 10 per cent.
