![The build to rent plans will include two internal roads with a communal area in the middle. The build to rent plans will include two internal roads with a communal area in the middle.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/rdPnbxNSt95RbDXSGgzrdz/3ab8bd09-ff35-441c-93a1-ad8fa72e95db.png/r2_0_727_408_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Fifty homes would be added to the rental market under plans lodged with Wollongong City Council.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The plans would see 25 townhouses - with two homes per townhouse - built on a block at Tharawal Drive, within the Vista Park estate at Wongawilli.
Two internal roads will cut through the block, with the centre given over to communal open space including a fire pit, dog wash area and gym.
Rather than be offered up for sale, the 50 homes will be constructed under the "build to rent" model.
![The street view of the proposed 50-dwelling build to rent development proposed for a Wongawilli housing estate. Picture by DKO The street view of the proposed 50-dwelling build to rent development proposed for a Wongawilli housing estate. Picture by DKO](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/rdPnbxNSt95RbDXSGgzrdz/b53f5092-b99b-4561-b5de-abce0d6caf02.png/r0_25_1123_656_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Build to rent has the objective of securing long-term rental income rather than up-front sales or capital growth," the development application's statement of environmental effects said.
"This emerging model responds to macroeconomic factors such as ageing population, population growth, housing affordability and constrained housing supply."
The breakdown of the 50 homes will see 25 one-bedroom dwellings, 18 with two bedrooms and seven three-bedders.
The statement of environmental effects stated the proposal was prompted by the housing crisis and the addition of build to rent housing to the NSW planning system.
"In 2021, the Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Plan identified that the region's growing population is driving a growing need for more diverse mix of housing types and lot sizes including small lots in urban release areas and mix of housing sizes including studios and one-bedroom dwellings," the statement said.
"Since then, Wollongong's rental crisis has been exacerbated, with rental vacancy rates at record lows, which particularly affects areas like the Wollongong local government area, where renters are among the fastest-growing proportion of households."
A traffic study stated the parking supplied within the development - 50 single-car garages and eight visitor spaces - was below the 80 spaces required by the Wollongong Development Control Plan.
"Despite a shortfall of 22 parking spaces, there are up to 35 on-street parking spaces able to be used by residents and visitors of the development," the traffic study stated.
"Based on the plentiful supply of on-street parking surrounding the site, the combined total of approximately 93 parking spaces (both on-street and off-street) is expected to be capable of accommodating the car parking demands associated with the proposed development."
The study said the 50-dwelling proposal would create 33 vehicle movements in the morning and evening peaks, which was only six more than a previous traffic assessment of The Vale carried out in 2021.