Make Room
Housing
Make Room Housing is a re-purposed heritage CBD Archive building providing 50 apartments for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness with 24/7 wrap-around services.
LOCATION
Boon Wurrung/ Wurundjeri Country | Melbourne Victoria
APARTMENTS
50
CLIENT
Unison Housing
YEAR
2023
STATUS
Construction
BUILDER
Harris HMC
The current housing crisis demands collective action to create meaningful change
This groundbreaking project, a partnership between the City of Melbourne, Unison Housing, the Victorian Government, and the philanthropic sector, aims to tackle chronic homelessness in Melbourne. Collaborating with cohealth, i2C Architects, builders Harris HMC, and corporate funders, the project innovates in service models, architectural design, funding, and construction partnerships, incorporating Unison’s social enterprise into its design.
Due for completion in September 2024, the $24.9 million Make Room project provides tailored, short-term supported accommodation and wrap-around services to transition people experiencing rough sleeping and chronic homelessness into sustainable housing. It repurposes a City of Melbourne owned building into specialist accommodation for 50 residents at a time and creates a rooftop garden space.
Due for completion in September 2024, the $24.9 million Make Room project provides tailored, short-term supported accommodation and wrap-around services to transition people experiencing rough sleeping and chronic homelessness into sustainable housing. It repurposes a City of Melbourne owned building into specialist accommodation for 50 residents at a time and creates a rooftop garden space.
Make Room not only meets immediate acute housing needs but is also designed to be replicated, potentially benefiting communities nationwide. This is the first known adaptive reuse project in Australia to use a Council asset to deliver supported housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness. As a pilot project for the City of Melbourne’s Adaptive Reuse Guidelines, the project has far-reaching impact.