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Melbourne Oct 11 (TIE)The Victorian Government has announced $9 million to help fund the conversion of a six-storey city building into supported accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. The building at 602 Little Bourke Street was first built in 1949 and will be refurbished under the City of Melbourne’s Make Room project.
Unison Housing will refurbish and manage the project, which will include up to 50 modern, purpose-built studio apartments and communal living areas for people experiencing homelessness.
The project takes a ‘housing first’ approach to tackling homelessness, with each apartment providing the home in which people can commence their journey to stable and secure long-term housing.
The Make Room project refurbishment is expected to be complete by September 2023. Initial planning will see the basement of the building used for support services for tenants, such as housing and medical services.
The ground floor will host a social enterprise, with the other five levels used for accommodation.
The Government will also provide funding for onsite services to address support needs of tenants.
The funding is part of the Building Work Stimulus package announced in May 2020, which included funding of $30 million for housing projects for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness
