The Victorian government could save more than $88m and avoid causing distress to residents forced to leave their homes, by refurbishing a Melbourne public housing estate instead of demolishing it, a study has found.
A not-for-profit architectural and research firm, Office, this week completed a feasibility study on refurbishing the 40-year-old Barak Beacon public housing estate in Port Melbourne.
The study comes after the Victorian government slated the estate for demolition and redevelopment, arguing the existing buildings were not fit for purpose and the new development would provide modern, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable homes.
Office found that not only was it technically and economically feasible to retain and refurbish the existing 89 dwellings and build around them, it was also cheaper, better for the residents, and could be done while meeting, if not surpassing, all the government’s sustainability and access requirements.
Refurbishing the existing buildings could add 23 apartments, resulting in a 25% increase in occupancy, the researchers found. Another 238 new homes could be built with careful infill of the surrounding open space, while still retaining public amenities such as playgrounds and gardens. This would result in a total of 350 apartments, equivalent to the government’s estimated new-build.
Barak Beacon residents were shocked last year when they were notified two weeks before Christmas that the estate was to be demolished and replaced by a new development as part of the government’s Big Housing Build.
The government had also not informed the local council of its intention to demolish the estate before issuing relocation notices to the residents.
The development is part of the second phase of the government’s Ground Lease Model Project, which involves handing over public land to a consortium of developers and community housing providers on a 40-year lease. The new development would replace public housing with a mix of social and affordable housing and a large number of private rentals. The Barak Beacon contract is still out to tender.
Office’s study is part of its ongoing “Retain, Repair, Reinvest” project, which evaluates the refurbishment potential of existing public housing estates. The firm previously conducted a similar study on an Ascot Vale estate. The building that was the subject of that pilot study – one of numerous identical buildings on the estate slated for demolition – is now being refurbished instead.
Drawing on the government’s own estimates, Office projected costs to the state under the government’s preferred Ground Lease Model would be at least $183.4m over 40 years. Office’s refurbishment proposal would cost $96.8m, saving the government about $88.6m.
This could be accomplished while allowing residents to continue living in their homes by staging the works, Office’s study found. This would save the government $16m in direct relocation costs, and approximately $1m in associated residents’ health and wellbeing costs.
It comes as latest figures from the Victorian government show its budget deficit for this financial year has been revised up from the $7.9bn forecast in the May budget to $9.7bn.
Office managing director, Simon Robinson, said: “The main ambition with our work is to highlight that there is an alternative way to do this and to advocate for that. We don’t know of any refurbishment study undertaken for this estate [by the government], which is problematic.”
Margaret Kelly, a Barak Beacon resident who has resisted relocation, said she was excited about what Office’s study demonstrated.
“I actually feel like someone has seen me and seen my community and seen that it’s beautiful. Even just the fact that someone came here and said that yes, this is really valuable and this is really nice, is meaningful,” she said.
“It shows that the government could achieve their stated goals without destroying communities. What they’ve done everywhere with the Big Build is draconian. They treat the tenants like some sort of annoying debris that you have to sweep out before you get going.”
Homes Victoria rejected the characterisation of the Big Housing Build as “draconian”, with a spokesperson saying in a statement: “The project represents excellent value for money and will help tackle the growing problem of housing affordability in Victoria, particularly in inner Melbourne.”
