Landcom Chief Executive Officer John Brogden has today joined in the celebrations to mark the official opening of a landmark Affordable Housing project in Penrith.

Mr Brogden said the Harts Landing project at Landcom’s Thornton development was a landmark affordable housing project that brought together private and not-for-profit sectors, setting the standard for future developments of this kind.

“Landcom has a proud history of creating new neighbourhoods and has been synonymous with quality housing in Sydney since its inception as the Land Commission of NSW in 1975,” Mr Brogden said.

“Housing affordability and housing supply is a serious issue for Sydney, which needs at least 725,000 new homes to accommodate an additional 1.7 million people by 2036.

“Landcom has been given a new mandate from the NSW Government - to take a lead role in improving the supply, diversity and affordability of new housing in Sydney and NSW, underpinned by industry-leading sustainability principles.”

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act defines Affordable Housing as for very low, low and moderate income households where rent payments are below 30 per cent of gross household income.

“A key commitment of Landcom’s Housing Affordability and Diversity Policy is that 5 to 10 per cent of new homes in our developments will be set aside as Affordable Housing,” Mr Brogden said.

“Landcom is meeting this commitment by working with government agencies, the private sector and not-for-profit organisations to deliver a range of housing types that are sustainable, innovative and attractive places to live at various price points across Sydney.

“The Thornton development and the Harts Landing project are great examples of Landcom increasing supply, and providing diverse and Affordable Housing with other organisations, and we want to continue these sorts of partnerships.”

Mr Brogden said Landcom bought the Thornton site from the Department of Defence in 2011, and one of their requirements was that part of the development include Affordable Housing, which aligned with Landcom’s goals.

“Evolve Housing is a leader in developing and managing Affordable Housing, and they were the drivers behind the Harts Landing project being a success.

“Evolve Housing, along with developer Payce, have ensured 134 apartments out of 268 were set aside as Affordable Housing – that’s 50 per cent of the apartments.

“Ten of the affordable housing apartments have been set aside for Aboriginal housing and some of the units cater to people with disabilities.”

Mr Brogden said Landcom was proud to have Hart’s Landing within the broader Thornton project, which will provide more than 2,000 innovative types of housing, including terraces, detached dwellings and apartments, located opposite Penrith Railway Station and CBD.

Thornton also includes an aged care facility, commercial and retail space, and seven hectares of the 40 hectare site has been set aside as open space.