Henley Beach South affordable housing hub offering low-income earners chance to secure a home

Fifty much-needed social and affordable rental properties have been built on a former Henley Beach South public housing site in a $48m development.

Henley Beach South ‘Coast’ is a project by Unity Housing and the South Australian Housing Trust offering more social and affordable housing to low-income households increasingly priced out of the metropolitan rental market.

The mixed development replaces 52 public housing flats built in 1957 on the 0.9ha Henley Beach Rd site.

It includes 22 two-and three-bedroom affordable rental townhouses and five two-bedroom social apartments owned and operated by Unity Housing.

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The $48m development includes 50 affordable and social townhouses and apartments. Picture: supplied.

There are also 23 two-bedroom social rental apartments for people aged 55 and over that are owned by the South Australia Housing Trust but managed by Unity Housing.

Another 20 townhouses have been sold.

The affordable townhomes and social apartments are expected to be fully tenanted by the end of July after construction was finished in May.

Mark is one of the first tenants to call the development home, moving into his two-bedroom apartment in May.

He’s lived at the site for much longer though – he lived in one of the old SA Housing Trust units that were previously on the site.

“I’ve come a long way in the last 10 to 15 years and now I’ve come back to here, bigger and better than ever, just like this apartment,” he said.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

Mark was a boarding house tenant with Unity Housing for nearly a decade and knows what it’s like to sleep rough.

“I’d do anything not to be in that position again,” he says.

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The site was previously home to 52 public housing flats. Picture: supplied.

“You don’t feel safe. You get wet when it rains, unless you’ve got a covered spot.

“But having a base to call my own gives you confidence and purpose.”

He looked for a place of his own before moving into the development but the housing crisis locked him out of the private rental market.

“I didn’t think there was any way I’d be able to get a place like this,” he says.

“I was sort of looking at private rentals, and they were way too expensive.

“For people like me, who work part time and are on a disability pension, it’s almost impossible to rent.”

Unity Housing chef executive Matthew Woodward said it was a landmark project that set the standard for affordable, inclusive and sustainable living in Henley Beach South.

“Our $48 million development is not just housing – it is also about strengthening the fabric of the community, reflecting the character and needs of the neighbourhood and delivering high quality, affordable homes that foster connection, dignity and opportunity,” he said.

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Mark in his new two-bedroom apartment. Picture: supplied.

“It delivers much-needed housing for low-income households, seniors and the broader community.”

Builder Centina’s managing director Paul Nardinocchi said they were proud to be part of a project that positively impacted the community.

The all-electric site includes 700 solar panels installed across the development’s mixed housing, car chargers fitted in Unity Housing’s affordable townhouses, and an open, green community space and street landscaping.

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