An artist's impression of the St Vincent de Paul Housing Australia development.

Construction is about to begin on a new 38-unit development by St Vincent de Paul Housing Australia that will provide homes for women over 55 who are priority applicants on the Housing Register.

The $16.7 million project received $13.36 million in funding under the Federal Government’s Social Housing Accelerator Program (SHAP), with the balance funded by St Vincent de Paul Housing Australia and the St Vincent de Paul Society through a grant of $700 000 and a $2.65 million loan through Housing Australia.

The five-storey development – behind the St Vincent de Paul op shop in Argyle St, Hobart – will consist of four levels surrounding a vertical garden with each studio containing its own kitchen, bathroom and private balcony.

The rooftop level of the apartments will also include a communal green space.

St Vincent de Paul CEO Heather Kent, left, Homes Tasmania CEO Eleri Morgan-Thomas and St Vincent de Paul Housing Australia CEO Graham West inside the former Vinnies op shop warehouse which is set to become a 38-unit development for women on the Housing Register.

A key priority of the Tasmanian Housing Strategy is to deliver more homes for women, and these 38 new units will make a huge difference to the lives of Tasmanian women who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness.

Construction will be undertaken by Vos Constructions, who have built numerous social and affordable housing developments for Homes Tasmania, including the Youth2Independence facility in Campbell Street, the Salvation Army Housing units in Moonah, and the Bellette Place supported accommodation facility in Chigwell.

Construction is expected to take about 18 months.

Site testing is already underway with construction work to begin soon.

Homes Tasmania is leveraging the $50 million in funding for the State under the Social Housing Accelerator Program to deliver 128 new units of social housing across Tasmania – 116 funded by the Australian Government and 12 with funding from Homes Tasmania.

Those 116 units funded only by the Social Housing Accelerator Program are in addition to the Tasmanian Government’s commitment to deliver 10 000 social and affordable homes by 2032, helping to put even more roofs over the heads of our most vulnerable residents.

As at 31 December 2024, 4 208 homes and lots of land had been delivered towards the 10 000 target and there are more than 560 homes in the construction pipeline.