Save articles for later

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Key points

• Calls for medium density development as Commonwealth Games legacy. 
• More than 400 townhouses earmarked for Bendigo, Geelong and Morwell. 
• Ballarat unlikely to gain permanent housing as a legacy of the games. 

Hundreds of mid-rise apartments being built in regional Victoria for Commonwealth Games athletes could help address rising demand for higher density living as the regions’ population grows, experts and community leaders say.

Plans are underway for temporary villages that will host athletes competing in the Games in March 2026 and will then be converted into permanent housing.

The site of the Commonwealth Games village in Geelong.Credit: Justin McManus

Tender documents show more than 400 townhouses have been earmarked across Bendigo, Geelong and Morwell, in Gippsland, so far.

An addendum to the documents, released on Friday, shows an “indicative scope” for an apartment complex with 44 units in Geelong and a 42-unit complex in Bendigo.

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute managing director Michael Fotheringham said the event should leave a legacy of higher density housing and the government should consider building apartments that have between four and seven storeys.

“We’re not talking about 30 storey towers in Bendigo and Ballarat,” he said. “That doesn’t fit with the vibe of those places.”

But Fotheringham said the apartments should allow people in these communities to downsize.

Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Jonathan Spear said precincts like the Games villages offered the opportunity for a mix of housing styles with greater density than regional areas currently had.

He said three and four-storey apartment buildings should be considered as part of the permanent housing.

“There’s probably an assumption that everyone who goes to a regional city wants to have a freestanding house,” Spear said. “I think the mindset has shifted. But we haven’t shifted our planning and infrastructure to support that choice.”

The site for the Commonwealth Games village at Flora Hill in Bendigo. Credit: Joe Armao

The advisory body said in a policy document earlier this year that demand for apartments was likely to continue in regional cities due to growing populations, house prices and land costs.

A survey by the body of 6000 households in Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat last year showed many respondents were open to higher density living.

One in four households in Ballarat who had chosen a detached home in the city’s new suburbs said they would trade for a townhouse or apartment for the same price if they were closer to existing infrastructure, family and friends. In Geelong, that proportion was one in three.

Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Jonathan Spear.

Spear said delivering greater density in established parts of regional cities would make those areas more accessible for working households.

“Because we’re not delivering that sort of medium density housing, it means that the established middle suburbs of Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat are pretty much locked out to middle income earners.”

The Bendigo athletes village is located in the established suburb of Flora Hill, about three kilometres from the city’s CBD.

Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf said Flora Hill was approved for buildings with up to four storeys, but she believed they could have gone higher.

“Maybe it’s a chance for people to see what it looks like if we go up a couple of floors,” she said.

Bendigo Mayor Andrea Metcalf.Credit: Bendigo Council

Metcalf said Bendigo had few apartments in its CBD, even though there was demand for smaller residences. She hoped the Games village would include plenty of apartments and smaller units geared towards mixed communities.

“It might be a place where young people get a start in the housing market.”

Greater Geelong acting mayor Anthony Aitken said his city’s Games village would require 600 dwellings, including townhouses and apartments, to accommodate 2500 athletes and officials.

He said the village’s location was suited to medium and high density living because it was near the Waurn Ponds railway station so residents had access to public transport.

Geelong will host nine events, including swimming, gymnastics and weightlifting.

An artist’s impression of the pool at Armstrong Creek that will host the swimming for the Commonwealth Games.

A government spokesman said the Games villages were being designed to ensure they transform into vibrant communities once the event is over and leave a legacy of social and affordable housing.

But opposition housing spokesman Richard Riordan said the government had failed to show how it would deliver the project with less than three years until the Games start and it was unclear how much social and affordable housing would be included.

He said it should have considered hosting athletes in Geelong’s CBD, where greater housing density could be delivered to maximise existing infrastructure.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article