A $50 million social housing development at Wangaratta's former Ovens College that would house 400 people is high priority for Indi MP Helen Haines leading into the 2025 Federal Election.
Dr Haines met with Nestd Developments and the Rural City of Wangaratta on-site on Wednesday to launch her $2 billion Regional Housing Infrastructure Fund policy she will be championing.
Dr Haines will continue to advocate for $10 million in Federal Government funding that is needed to make the Wangaratta housing project happen, one that will generate an estimated $100 million into the local economy.
Developers are hoping the Wangaratta site can be an exemplar project that will be replicated throughout the nation.
Nestd executive director Alan Takle said they have been looking at former school sites and latent land and collaborating with local and state governments to be able to expedite the delivery of those sites to provide housing for communities.
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He said they're looking at delivering the Wangaratta project as proof of concept and then it can be used to deliver more homes throughout Victoria and Australia "with velocity".
The homes are proposed for the 2.6-hectare Vincent Road site that will provide for 173 homes plus a substantial amount of social infrastructure.
He said the design's component are around efficiency, environmental sustainability amenity, introducing a generous amount of parkland, childcare, and walking paths with accessibility feature.
The precinct will include solar power, water recycling and onsite sewage treatment and Mr Takle said they are looking to go beyond minimum standards.
"We want to provide resilient homes that are safe and appropriate for the needs of the community which is very important," he said.
"Any week of the year if you look at Wangaratta there are only 20-25 rental properties that are being offered, and they're not cheap and they're not new.
"What we're providing here is a very tailored and intentionally designed precinct to meet the needs of the community, social housing, affordable housing, and key worker housing to drive economic development into this region.
"This will be a development of national significance, an exemplar development that can be replicated throughout Australia to meet the needs of people who require housing and require it urgently."
Dr Haines said Wangaratta is a perfect location for this project because of the vacant land which is close to public transport.
"When we speak to younger people, particularly our nurses, doctors and teachers, they don't necessarily want a three-bedroom home with a large garden," she said.
"They want to be part of the community that's walking distance to where they work and we know there are people on low incomes so people seeking social housing need to be a part of the community and have access to public transport.
"There has not been investment for regional infrastructure for decades and this is the time, this is our moment for regional Australia, we do need a regional fund.
"I've been leading the charge for the whole of regional Australia, and I'm pleased the government has stepped into this space.
"The Prime Minister last week acknowledged the work that I did by establishing a housing support fund but that fund is too small and it's for the whole of Australia."
City Mayor Irene Grant said council has been working with Dr Haines and Nestd to bring the project to this point and they are dependent on Federal Government funding to make it succeed.
"With Nestd we've worked through the process of identifying how we can improve the site and how we can provide very much needed housing," she said.
"The Rural City of Wangaratta last year worked through a housing strategy and it identified the many elements of what we need to do in order to produce the housing.
"It will make use of the site that has been sitting vacant for many years and we're very excited to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."
