SITE works are getting underway on public housing homes being built in Mount Gambier.
The works, coming under the State Government’s $177.5 million Public Housing Improvement Program, will see 16 new homes built around the city.
Premier Peter Malinauskas visited one of the sites, located on Orr Street, to check in on how the initial works have been progressing.
He said he looks forward to seeing how the homes look when they are completed.
“It’ll all be done apparently in the next eight months,” he said.
“We’ve got four dwellings here [on Orr] that will be a combination of two and three bedrooms, so the capacity for up to a dozen people to comfortably live here in a modern setting.
“There is public housing stock here in Mount Gambier that is primed for rejuvenation, but also expansion so we get more homes for more people.
“I’ll be watching the progress and looking forward to a before and after photo this time next year.”
Mount Gambier-based builder Empak won a tender to build 10 of the homes, which operations manager Heath Mitchell said falls in line with the company’s history of building public housing.
“As a community minded organisation, it would be remiss of us to focus on the private housing sector, without also placing time and effort into the social housing sector,” he said.
“We commend Minister [Nat] Cook, and the South Australian Housing Authority for their proactive approach, in seeking to address social housing issues specific to the City of Mount Gambier, with the construction of these ten dwellings.”
Mr Malinauskas said he would be returning to Mount Gambier upon completion of the project.
“I said to Heath, ‘Get it done on time and I’ll shout you a frothy’, so we’ll see how we go,” he said.
