The partnership between Griffith City Council, Argyle Housing and the Federal government is set to create 20 affordable townhouses on Walla Avenue. All involved turned out to the lot on January 25 to celebrate the milestone and look ahead to the future of the development.

The townhouses will be accompanied by 40 ready-to-build lots across the road, along with new playground equipment, a basketball court, open spaces and a new community hub to promote establishing a community atmosphere in the area from the outset.

The event kicked off with a welcome to country ceremony, including a number of Wiradjuri dances and a cleansing ceremony overseen by Wiradjuri elder James Williams.

“This partnership with the Australian Government and Argyle Housing is just one demonstration of working with Government and Non-Government Organisations to address the needs of our community,” said Councillor Curran.

“The sod turning marks the commencement of this important development, with the construction of 20 affordable townhouses to help address the housing shortage for our community.”

In addition, the availability of more than 40 build ready lots will provide affordable housing options and a way to enter the competitive home ownership market in Griffith,” he said.

Acting CEO of Argyle Housing Carolyn Doherty said that she was excited that the project had reached this milestone.

“We want to encourage people not just to stay, but to thrive in their own communities… We’ve got other projects and are working with other councils who’ve been seeing this.”

All acknowledged the importance of the partnership, both in funding and supporting the project. Griffith City Council put 3 million towards the development, with Argyle Housing matching the donation and a further 6 million dollars coming from the Federal government.

The state government, while not funding the housing, is taking responsibility for the ancillary projects such as the basketball court and community hub. Parliamentarian Wes Fang said that it was a good example of the three levels of government working together.

“It’s been a great project, it shows what thinking outside the box and having three levels working together to deliver an outcome can do.”