The region’s largest affordable and community housing provider plans to build more than 300 new dwellings across the Sunshine Coast after being elevated to a ‘Tier 1 status’.
The milestone status means Coast2Bay Housing Group will have priority when obtaining vital grants and funding to build more houses for people who are at risk, or on low incomes.
The Sunshine Coast is currently in the grip of a housing crisis, with a rental vacancy rate below 1 per cent and property prices soaring out of reach.
On top of the massive deficit in affordable rentals and houses for sale, the region’s social housing stock is considered to be short by 1000 properties and that’s even before the anticipated influx of new residents moves in.
Coast2Bay Housing Group CEO Andrew Elvin said the not-for-profit company wanted to invest up to $100m over the next five years to build more affordable and community housing, and being a Tier 1 agency would help with that.
Coast2Bay was raised to Tier 1 after a re-assessment by the Queensland registrar of the National Regulatory System for Community Housing and is among 39 across Australia in that category.
“What that really means is we will get access to more grants and funding because we’re in that league now. Tier ones get the best and then it goes down from there,” said Mr Elvin.
Coast2Bay covers an area spanning from Pine River in Moreton Bay through the Sunshine Coast to Gympie, including Noosa.
The group is also working on building 70 properties across the Sunshine Coast — a mix of apartments with one, two and three bedrooms — with some of them starting over the next few months.
Coast2Bay is finalising designs for around 27 architecturally designed townhouses close to a southern hinterland town’s CBD for a mix of individuals and families.
They are also delivering seven one-bedroom townhouses in another country town on the northern end of the Coast.
The longer-term goal to create another 300 dwellings to potentially house up to 700 individuals and families would be a $100million investment that would have to come from grants and other funding.
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Mr Elvin explained that Coast2Bay Housing Group both managed and constructed properties.
“We probably have 1100 properties we manage and that’s grown particularly over the last ten years exponentially,” he said.
He said they were always on the look out for landlords interested in renting their properties through Coast2Bay.
When undertaking assessment for Tier 1 status, regulators take into account the number of properties managed as well as the level of construction and risk that groups take on.
“For the last eight years we’ve been working towards being in the top tier which are the biggest organisations and the ones that are managing that risk well,” said Mr Elvin.
The locally based provider is now in its 30th year.
If you are a landlord interested in having your property managed through Coast2Bay Housing Group please call 54512900 or email admin@coast2bay.com.au
