All 62 housing properties
in the Pemulwuy Project will be able to be rented at below market rates with the
top-up funding from the Federal Government ensuring the long-term viability of
affordable housing for Aboriginal people on The Block.
The Pemulwuy Project
housing for Aboriginal tenants will consist mainly of two-storey townhouses,
each with its own private front and back courtyards. There will also be some
apartments at the top of The Block built above the new two-level Mundine Gym
for professional and aspiring boxers. The different types of housing will allow
older people to move from the larger housing into the apartments when their
families grow up and leave home rather than have to move away from the area.
Ms Plibersek said, “I am
very pleased to welcome this investment in the Pemulwuy Project through the
Labor Government’s NRAS.”
Mr Mundine and Greg
Colbran from Dei Corp, the AHC’s project manager, described the changes that
have been made to the project in response to the Director General’s
Requirements for its application to the Department of Planning for Concept Plan
approval.
The size of the building
on the corner of Eveleigh and Lawson Streets where the AHC’s new office and
some street-level retail shops will be located has been scaled back to allow
people leaving Redfern station a line of sight to the Redfern Community Centre
through a plaza with eight or nine cultural interpretation points and panels to
preserve the heritage of the area. An engraved pole on which the Aboriginal flag
will proudly fly will be located outside a gallery space that will have a glass
wall incorporating the image of the iconic painted wall on the side of the old gym
that has dominated The Block since about 2005.
A 60-place childcare centre will be
located around the corner in Caroline Street with its playground distancing it
from existing terraces in the street. The AHC will lease the premises to an
independent child-care provider. The housing to accommodate 105 students, to be
built along the railway side of Eveleigh Street, will be operated by the AHC.
Both these facilities will be available to Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal
people, as Mick says it is important for the future that the next generation
meet and grow up together.
Mr Colbran explained that some of these
changes have been to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the project. “The balance is now right, with income
to support ongoing maintenance and other costs.”
At the meeting Mr Mundine pointed to
writing on a white board in the room and said: “See that – 10.30am October 13. That was the time I opened the
[approval] letter. When I read it I was so thankful that I was crying like a
baby.”
Photo: Geoff Turnbull – Mick Mundine and Tanya Plibersek
Source: November 2011
South Sydney Herald http://www.southsydneyherald.com.au/