Home in Place has won the GreenSmart Sustainable Home of the Year at the 2022 HIA-CSR Hunter Housing and Kitchen & Bathroom Awards on Saturday night for social and affordable housing property in Wickham NSW.

Home in Place Project Manager Property Development and Acquisition Michael Nolan accepted the award on behalf of Home in Place.

Mr Nolan said he was proud to be part of delivering this important project and acknowledged the work of the project builder North Construction & Building, architects CKDS and Town Planner Barr Planning.

“The 16-unit complex was built to alleviate housing stress and provide more options for key workers and people on low incomes, but not at the expense of the environment.” Mr Nolan said.

“The GreenSmart Awards recognise the best in environmentally responsible housing and this apartment building ticks all the boxes.”

The complex has an impressive 7.5-star Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) rating, meaning tenants benefit from savings on power bills as well as from the affordable rents. The built form is constructed from preformed concrete tilt panels, and each apartment features floor to ceiling tiled bathrooms, 5-star rated efficient water fittings and fixtures, low energy LED lighting, commercial grade glazing to all windows and doors, and solar energy to supply hot water and feed back to the grid.

The complex was completed in 2021 under a partnership between the NSW Government, City of Newcastle, and Home In Place. It was one of nearly 500 properties, across 19 Hunter and Central Coast sites, that Home in Place delivered as part of the NSW Government’s Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF). Council contributed to the project through the Building Better Cities program.

As a winner of the Hunter GreenSmart Sustainable Home award, Home in Place is now in the running for the 2023 National GreenSmart Awards.