Hotham Estate: A new phase for public housing renewal

The most valuable asset in public housing renewal is the community – both culturally and economically. In the current model of public housing redevelopment in Victoria - housing, services, and infrastructures are built elsewhere over a long period of time before tenants are relocated, the land is sold to developers, the housing is demolished, and mostly private housing is built on the original site. The problems with this are obvious – high set-up costs, a displaced community and two new communities created - both with complex needs. In this proposal, improved housing is built on-site with the community in-place. A multi-phase project is then gradually undertaken to redevelop the site. The outcome is a stronger community with better infrastructure to prosper now and into the future, as well as much lower holistic project costs. The development of sellable commercial floor space accounts for the rest of the budget and, compared to private housing, has the potential to harbour a mutually beneficial relationship for the residents. To further improve their outcomes, the housing is designed to cater for the diverse needs and challenges of the culturally diverse and often vulnerable population in public housing.