Make Room is a transformative housing initiative aimed at addressing chronic homelessness and rough sleeping in Melbourne, providing safe and secure accommodation for those in need.
Everyone deserves a place to call home, and this project takes a significant step toward achieving that goal. DCWC is honoured to have played a key role as Quantity Surveyor, managing costs and ensuring the project stayed on track financially. Through our expertise, we’ve supported the delivery of a project that not only changes lives, but also sets a new standard for collaboration and social impact in the housing sector.
Make Room offers transitional and supportive accommodation tailored to assist individuals experiencing homelessness. Located in the existing City of Melbourne-owned building at 602 Little Bourke Street, it involved extensive refurbishments and upgrades to the fabric, finishes and services. The project features 50 studio apartments, a rooftop garden, and flexible shared spaces designed to foster community interaction. The basement and ground floor areas provide spaces for health, well-being, and other essential services to support residents.
Designed by architects i2C and constructed by Harris HMC, this adaptive reuse project shows how existing assets can be transformed into a lifeline for vulnerable populations. Residents will receive wraparound services to help them transition into long-term, sustainable housing. Unison Housing leads the initiative, working alongside cohealth to provide on-site support and Ngwala Willumbong (Ngwala) to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents.
Residents are expected to begin moving in by early 2025. Make Room is not only addressing urgent housing needs but also serves as a replicable model for social housing projects that could benefit communities across Australia. This first-of-its-kind partnership demonstrates how public assets can be repurposed to create impactful, supportive housing solutions for those most in need.
Images courtesy of Unison Housing.
For more information on our Quantity Surveying services, or to explore our other Residential projects.
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