Common Ground
660 Elizabeth Street Melbourne
Project: Common Ground - 660 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Description: Supported Social Housing
Cost: $46 million
Completion: August 2010
Elizabeth Street ‘Common Ground’ Supportive Housing is a partnership between the State and Federal Governments, Yarra Community Housing, HomeGround Services and Grocon. Based on the “Common Ground” model pioneered in New York, this project was the first of its kind in Victoria and Australia to provide a practical and cost-effective model to meet the housing and support needs of people who have experienced long term homelessness.
Elizabeth Street Common Ground Supportive Housing is an 11 storey building divided into two precincts with separate entries – one on Elizabeth Street and the other on Berkeley Street. The first precinct provides housing for 131 “supported” tenants and the other for 30 family tenancies in affordable housing. The building also provides operational offices for YCH and HomeGround, as well as community facilities for tenants and a green roof garden.
Supportive housing has proven to be an effective solution to ending chronic homelessness for people who have high and complex needs and who have struggled to access and maintain housing in the past. The building incorporates environmentally sustainable design features to reduce the overall environmental impact, improve the comfort and quality of the accommodation and reduce utility costs.