Ballarat's $26.9m CBD social housing project nears completion
Uniting Vic.Tas says the 24-apartment Albert Street project is due to open in early 2027, with tenants from the Victorian Housing Register moving in during the year.
A $26.9 million, 24-apartment social housing building on Albert Street in Ballarat’s CBD is nearing completion, The Courier reported on 16 October 2026. Uniting Vic.Tas chief executive Carol Jeffs said the four-level project was on track during a site walkthrough. It is funded by $13 million from the Victorian government, $9.4 million from the federal Housing Australia Future Fund and $4.5 million from Uniting Vic.Tas itself.
“There is a lot more work to do, and a lot more investment to come in social housing,” Jeffs said.
Why it matters
State Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison said more than $308 million had been invested in the City of Ballarat to build 657 new social and affordable homes, with 331 already completed, The Courier reported. The Albert Street project adds 24 apartments in the CBD itself, across the road from Uniting’s existing support services. For Ballarat builders and trades, it is a working example of the funding mix behind regional social housing. This project is part of the broader social and affordable housing pipeline tracked across our Melbourne market page.
Federal Member for Ballarat Catherine King and Addison both attended the walkthrough. Addison said increasing housing investment in Ballarat was a priority for her, citing more work still to do in the region. Jeffs told The Courier the housing register waitlist was only one piece of the data used to gauge need. No new funding announcement was reported from the visit.
The numbers
The $26.9 million build comprises 17 one bedroom and seven two bedroom apartments across four levels, designed by MGS Architects and built by Figurehead Constructions. The building includes private meeting spaces for residents and their caregivers to use with Uniting’s support staff.
Figurehead construction manager Daniel Dottori said the builder prioritised local tradespeople throughout the project, saying the company goes to local suppliers first in its procurement. The Courier did not report a figure for the proportion of local trades used, so none is cited here.
Once finished, Uniting Housing will manage the building on an ongoing basis. The $4.5 million Uniting Vic.Tas has put toward the project sits alongside the $13 million state and $9.4 million federal contributions, funding that together covers the full $26.9 million cost reported by The Courier.
What’s next
The Courier reported the build is expected to reach completion later in 2026, with the development set to open in early 2027. Tenants drawn from the Victorian Housing Register, the state’s waiting list for social housing, are expected to move in during 2027 once Uniting Housing takes over management of the building.
No handover date more specific than “early 2027” has been reported, and no construction defect, delay or cost variation has been disclosed in the coverage reviewed for this story. Any change to that timeline, or confirmation of a firm move-in date for the first tenants, would be the next verifiable development in this project.
The funding pairs a state contribution and a federal Housing Australia Future Fund contribution with the community housing provider’s own $4.5 million. Uniting Vic.Tas is the only non-government funder named. It will also keep running support services from across the road once residents move in.