Housing model takes off

Huge interest in apartment complex that allows you to try before you buy.

People will be able to try before they buy under an Australia-first apartment model planned for Kensington.

And ‘key workers’ such as nurses and teachers will be given first dibs.

Property developer Assemble will build an eight-storey apartment complex at the site of a former cassette tape factory at 393 Macaulay Rd.

It also has plans for a mixed use development at 15 Thompson St.

Both projects will allow occupants to rent an apartment before buying.

The Macaulay Rd project will include a mix of 73 studio, one, two and three-bedroom homes.

The Thompson St project is still in its infancy but is expected to include up to 200 apartments and ground floor retail space.

Under the model, residents sign a five-year lease and have the right to acquire the property at an agreed valuation when it ends.

The project is an alternative housing model designed to bridge the gap between renting and owning.

More than 3200 people have registered interest in the Macaulay Rd complex and there’s now a waiting list.

A number of apartments at the site will be set aside for “key workers” such as nurses and educators in the next few months.

Melbourne City councillor Beverley Pinder joined Assemble managing director Kris Daff at a demolition party for the former tape factory on August 10.

Cr Pinder said the Assemble model would help address the challenge of affordable housing.

Mr Daff said he had been overwhelmed by the amount of interest in the project.

“(This) reinforces our belief in creating alternative pathways to home ownership”

Kris Daff, Managing Director of Assemble

Applications are now open for 15 Thompson St here.