We are proud to announce that BHC’s Benson Place has received the state award in the affordable development category at the UDIA Queensland 2020 Mitchell Brandtman Awards for Excellence.
The development was designed by leading Brisbane firm Ultralinea Architecture, comprises of 35 one-bedroom modern apartments, each with a separate multi-purpose room.
BHC CEO Rebecca Oelkers said the development was uniquely created for senior public housing residents in the Logan area who were looking to downsize into more suitable accommodation.
“Before living at Benson Place, these residents were living in large, detached public housing properties that were too big for their current household requirements, with poor accessibility, and difficult maintenance requirements,” Ms Oelkers said.
“Benson Place was designed to support residents’ aspirations to age in place in their local communities and provide them with peace of mind about their long-term housing futures. I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to achieve with the project.
“Given the significant demand on the public housing waiting list, residents vacating their public housing property to relocate to Benson Place, in turn, enabled larger families to be housed, or the sites to be redeveloped by the State Government into more modern public housing that better matches the waiting list need.”
The building opened in 2019 with Barry among its first tenants. This life-changing move has transformed Barry’s life for the better, allowing him to focus his time on the hobbies he enjoys most.
“I never ever dreamed in my life that I would be in a place like this,” Barry said.
“The move itself has been very positive, it’s totally changed my lifestyle. You are now living in a community, you can walk out your door, you can walk downstairs to the common room and there is almost someone around to have a cuppa, have a talk.”
Funded in partnership with the Queensland Government, the development has been named Benson Place in recognition of the important work of Colleen Benson over the past 27 years in the Springwood community.
Find out more about Barry’s story here.
