Watson Place – a 23-unit affordable housing development for women over 55 facing homelessness – has been named a finalist in the 2025 UDIA NSW Awards for Excellence in Affordable Housing.

Located in Bellingen, 547km north of Sydney, the project is the first affordable housing venture by the Royal Freemasons’ Benevolent Institution (RFBI).

Six years in the making, the development was delivered through RFBI’s subsidiary, Bellorana, with land donated by RFBI, and $10 million in combined funding from the NSW and Australian governments. All 23 one-bedroom apartments were snapped up before Watson Place officially opened in August 2024.

RFBI CEO Frank Price opened the project in December last year, highlighting the $250,000 worth of goods and donations that helped fully furnish the apartments. The development application was prepared by GeoLINK, and the homes are now managed by Mission Australia Housing.

The project was inspired by Housing Matters’ Needs-mapping project, which identified older single women as a particularly vulnerable group facing rising rates of homelessness, housing insecurity and displacement in the region. Watson Place sits on the site of RFBI’s Bellorana Hostel residential aged care home.