Romilly House set for significant transformation
A long-vacant and iconic building at the edge of the eastern park lands will be turned into specialist disability accommodation as part of a major refurbishment of the dilapidated site. See the render.
Romilly House, aka Hackney Lodge, will be renovated to become a disability accommodation tower at the corner of North Terrace and Hackney Road.
To be called Romilly Place, the long-vacant site will transform after developers Nexa Development partnered with disability accommodation expert and Romilly Place CEO Tania Noonan.
While the development must still go through typical approvals, Romilly Place is already opening itself up to expressions of interest from those who might want to call the iconic building home.
Romilly House at 1 North Terrace, Hackney, is a State Heritage Place and has reportedly been vacant since 2017, after which it became a target for vandals and graffiti.
Noonan said Romilly Place will rejuvenate the building and will see the planned construction of 40 two-bedroom apartments of varying levels of accessibility, intended to be long-term housing for people with disability.
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Noonan was previously a community and disability housing consultant, and prior to that was the operations manager for Minda Housing.
She said the development would “pay homage to the history” of Romilly House and provide a “safe place for people living with disability”.
Those living at Romilly Place will be able to live alone – something missing from the disability housing sector according to Noonan.
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They’ll still maintain a sense of community and be well supported, but “they can live independently and not have to share their actual apartment space with anyone else, unless they wish to”.
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Flexibility is at the centre of what Romilly Place hopes to achieve. As is affordability, with Romilly Place ensuring those living there will pay on an “all-inclusive home and living model”, where bills are included in a flat fee alongside rent.
“That’s something that unfortunately people with disability don’t get to have at the moment; every last bit of their money is taken from them,” she said.
“We’re particularly excited about that because living in that location you’ve got Fringe, Supercars, the Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. People could be living there and having zero money to go and do any of those things, but we’re making sure it’s a model that’s giving back to them, to do better in this sector.
“We want to remove that anxiety around bills because I think we all know that it’s a problem for pretty much everyone, but it should not be a problem for our most vulnerable and certainly not those on a fixed and limited income – it shouldn’t be something they need to worry about.”
Noonan said she felt “privileged” to be able to develop “such an iconic site”.
“The location… the history… everything about it. We’re really hopeful that the development will be welcomed with open arms by the public, not just for the work we’re doing but to improve that incredible site,” she said.