The Labor Govt has revealed plans to raise the two-storey height limit for aged care facilities to three storeys as part of its revised Plan Melbourne blueprint.
“All the modelling we’ve done suggests you need 90-100 rooms to make a viable operation,” Paul Hameister from developer Hamton Group told the Fin Review. “Ideally that’s around 30 rooms on each level, across three levels. If you only do two levels the economics don’t work.”
The blueprint also outlines the need to develop a streamlined approvals process for specific housing types that tackle local housing shortages such as aged care accommodation.
According to its plan, Melbourne needs another 1.6M dwellings by 2050 to cope with a population increase from 4.5M to 8M. The Govt is planning for 70% of these to be built in existing suburbs to create ‘20-minute’ neighbourhoods close to public transport and services.
The Grattan Institute reported last year that Melbourne’s middle-ring suburbs – those located 5km to 20km from the CBD – have seen little growth in the past 30 years due to NIMBYism, despite having the infrastructure to support more people.
