Property sale to fund affordable housing for Sydney Adventist Hospital nursing students

Sydney Adventist Hospital.

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Funds from the sale of nine Sydney properties will go towards an affordable housing development for student nurses and doctors at Sydney Adventist Hospital.

Eight houses and one block of land in the same Normanhurst street were auctioned on December 1, raising $A13.3 million. The properties were owned by the South Pacific Division (SPD) and originally housed church workers, but in recent years were on the private rental market.

SPD Property Trust manager Lorin Bradford said he is happy with the outcome of the auction as it will help the San to attract future nurses and doctors.

“The current nurses’ residence is very unappealing and way past its use-by date—a replacement is desperately needed,” he said.

“The new accommodation will provide more housing on the same site as the hospital. The provision of cost-effective housing has never been more critical, particularly in today’s climate where nurses and doctors are in such high demand.”

The development will consist of 186 apartments for Avondale University nursing students and Australian National University student doctors, as well as 60 apartments for key health workers. 

Sydney Adventist Hospital CEO Brett Goods said, “We are all very conscious of the high cost of housing in Sydney. It is one of the challenges to recruitment and retention of health workers. The provision of cost-effective health worker accommodation will be an enormous asset to Sydney Adventist Hospital and our people.”

The properties were part of the Wahroonga Estate, a 64.2ha parcel of land acquired by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1898.

Construction of the affordable housing complex is expected to commence in the 2023-24 financial year.

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