Forty “affordable” apartments, new soup kitchen proposed in 26-storey CBD development

A $134 million, 26-storey development in the Coffs Harbour CBD will have 40 affordable housing units out of 152, but one councillor says it’s not enough.

What is proposed?: The Uniting Church in Australia wants to develop the site of its Uniting Church in Gordon Street, Coffs Harbour.

The church has operated at the site since 1915 and runs a popular soup kitchen.

Considered a State Significant Development (SSD), the proposal includes 152 apartments, a worship hall, retail and commercial floor space, five levels of car parking and a new soup kitchen.

The estimated development cost is about $134 million.

The 40 affordable housing apartments represent 26.3 percent of the overall stock, and would be rented at discount rates for at least 15 years, at which point the owner or developer can rent or sell at market rate. A previous iteration of the proposal, which was withdrawn by the developer after discussions with government and council, included 20 affordable apartments.

Who is eligible: Affordable housing is provided for very low to moderate income earners and is managed by community housing providers. 

Rents are either calculated as a discount of current market rent, usually set between 75-80 percent of market price, or as a proportion of household income, generally between 25 and 30 percent of pre-tax household income. 

More could be done: Coffs Harbour councillor Tony Judge said developments of this kind should be aiming for closer to 40 percent affordable housing, which should be provided in perpetuity. 

• “Fifteen years in the life of the city is not a long time and inevitably those places will be gentrified, and we'll lose that affordable housing,” he said. 

How high is too high: The development requires the land to be rezoned, which would increase the maximum building height from 44 to 90 metres. By comparison, the CODA apartment block completed on Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour in 2025 is 12 storeys. 

The state government is giving some developers leeway on building heights if they can show they are meeting affordable housing targets. 

Judge said “higher rise buildings” in the Coffs CBD are inevitable, given the region’s one percent rental vacancy rate.

• “We had the biggest increase in homelessness in regional NSW last year, so I don't think we've got the luxury of denying that we need to build more and more apartments in the centre of Coffs,” he said. 

Increasing the CBD population would improve the local economy, support retail and increase feelings of community safety, Judge said. 

Have your say: The proposal is on display until July 15 via the NSW Planning Portal. 

The application will be assessed by the minister for planning, not council.

A City of Coffs Harbour spokesperson said the council is “reviewing the proposal and will make a submission where/if appropriate”. 

Image credit: Cortese.