Haven Home Safe purchased ‘Wattlewood’, Carrum Downs in 2009, which at the time contained an aged care facility, 130 run-down units, and housed 104 elderly residents.
Since then, Haven Home Safe has taken a staged approach to developing the 17.4-hectare site. This methodical approach allowed HHS to construct 100 new social and affordable homes while providing new homes to existing residents with minimal disruption.
Additionally, Haven Home Safe offered 177 housing allotments to the private market.
The new homes, consisting of 82 two-bedroom units and 18 three-bedroom units, were designed to conform to the Livable Housing Design Guidelines (Silver level). This design aimed to promote accessibility, allowing for aging in place, and included circulation space for easy future modification for non-ambulant tenants. Energy efficiency was prioritised in the design, with features such as LED lighting and heat pump hot water systems, minimizing energy costs for renters. The homes were also designed to be low maintenance, reducing maintenance costs for Haven Home Safe and minimizing any inconvenience to renters.
Haven Home Safe provides free rent to any tenants over the age of 100 years old.
In 2023 Haven Home Safe completed the final part of this development project with dwelling number 100 now called ‘home’ by its new renters.
