Gibbons Street, St. George Community Housing

SGCH’s Gibbons Street Redfern project is a multi-award-winning development that transformed a former City of Sydney depot into one of the largest social and affordable housing projects in NSW. This project demonstrates SGCH’s capability to work with local and state government to design, deliver and secure funding for a large scale social and affordable housing project in a complex urban context.  

The innovative 18-storey building features 162 units, offering a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom configurations. Among these, 27 units are adaptable for residents with disabilities, and a select number are dual key apartments to accommodate multi-generational living. 

The project is partly delivered under the NSW Government’s Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF), offering 42 social and 59 affordable housing units. The remaining 61 affordable housing units are delivered under SGCH’s leveraging obligations to the NSW State Government. Recognising the cultural significance of Redfern, SGCH set a target to ensure 25% of households were leased to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander customers and exceeded this with more than 40% of customers who identify as such.  

Amenities include two large outdoor communal open spaces, barbecue facilities, bike rack storage, children’s playground, and a community room with kitchen. Located opposite the new fully accessible train station entrance, the building offers great links to transport and nearby retail, employment, and education hubs. 

The building has an energy efficient 8.3-star rating under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) due to the incorporation of a 45-kW rooftop solar photovoltaic system and battery providing all power to the common areas, a high energy efficient building specification including precast, double glazing, passive ventilation options and fans in lieu of air conditioning to ensure residential amenity and reduced utility bills for customers.