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Make Room, Melbourne


Completed in November 2024, Make Room is a partnership between the City of Melbourne and Unison Housing, the Victoria Government and the philanthropic sector to address the critical needs of people experiencing rough sleeping and homelessness in the City of Melbourne.

Make Room will help break the cycle of homelessness for the City of Melbourne’s most vulnerable by providing access to specialist supportive housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Unison Housing has partnered with cohealth to provide wraparound onsite support services and Ngwala Willumbong (Ngwala) to support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community members to transition into and sustain their Make Room tenancy.

Residents will slowly start to move in from early 2025.

What is Make Room?

The $24.9 million Make Room project provides tailored, transitional supportive accommodation and wraparound services to support people sleeping rough or experiencing chronic homelessness into sustainable housing. It is an adaptive reuse project that repurposes a City of Melbourne-owned building at 602 Little Bourke Street into specialist accommodation for 50 residents at a time and has a rooftop garden space. The basement and ground floor hosts flexible spaces to facilitate interaction among residents, as well as the delivery of on-site health and well-being support services.

Make Room not only meets immediate acute housing needs but also is designed to be replicated, potentially benefiting communities nationwide. This is the first known partnership project to use a Council asset for social housing for vulnerable cohorts of people experiencing homelessness.

The project at a glance

Make Room is a groundbreaking supportive housing project for people experiencing rough sleeping or chronic homelessness, designed to increase secure housing in Melbourne – because everyone deserves a home.

Make Room offers:

  • 50 studio apartments: Private and culturally safe, the self-contained units at Make Room are designed for comfort and security.
  • Shared spaces: Common areas, including a rooftop garden and other shared facilities, foster a sense of community.
  • Social and health support staff located onsite: To provide tailored plans that work with residents’ personal goals.
  • Stay duration: Transitional housing up to 12 months, or until residents have secured alternative housing.

Who can be a resident?

  • Make Room supports people who are currently sleeping rough or experiencing chronic homelessness in the City of Melbourne.
  • Potential residents must be eligible for Victorian Housing Register (VHR) approval.

Development Project Partners:

  • Builder: Harris HMC 
  • Architect: i2C 
  • Superintendent: Reshape Development 
  • Planning and Landscape Consultant: Tract

FAQs

  • How will Make Room help people break the cycle of homelessness?

    Make Room is designed to provide more than just housing; it offers place-based care aimed at improving the health, wellbeing, housing, and social outcomes of people experiencing homelessness in the City of Melbourne. The project adopts a human rights approach to housing and healthcare, prioritising the reduction of harm and the delivery of trauma-informed, consumer-directed, holistic, and strengths-based support. 

    Unison will be managing the renter tenancies, maintaining the building and arranging the 24/7 onsite security, while cohealth will provide wraparound health and social supports to help people live at Make Room. 

    Make Room residents will stay for up to 12 months, or until they have secured alternative housing. 

    Aligned with Housing First principles as the overarching framework, Make Room ensures that housing is provided without preconditions, recognising stable housing as a fundamental right and an essential foundation for improving other aspects of life. Residents will receive ongoing case management support from housing workers, helping them maintain their tenancies and navigate the challenges associated with transitioning from homelessness to stable housing. 

    Through its Supportive Housing partnership, Make Room offers access to a wide range of health and social services tailored to the unique needs of each individual. Specialist health services, including mental health care, will be integrated into the program to address the complex health needs often experienced by people who are experiencing homelessness.  

    Ngwala Willumbong (Ngwala) will support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community members to transition into their tenancies as well as help them sustain their Make Room tenancy. 

    Through this comprehensive approach, Make Room aims to create lasting, positive change for its residents, ensuring they have the tools and support needed to thrive. 

  • How was the project funded?

    Make Room has taken a collaborative and innovative approach to funding. 

    The City of Melbourne has raised more than $16.1 million for the $24.9 million capital project, including $9 million capital funding from the Victorian Government in addition to a range of leading philanthropic and corporate partners. The Victorian Government has also committed the sole operational funding of $5.2 million over two years for on-site support and specialised tenancy management.

    Funds raised from the philanthropic and corporate sectors include significant contributions from our major donors including: 

    The Ian Potter Foundation

    Gandel Foundation

    Helen and David Hains Foundation

    Lord Mayor Charitable Foundation

    Helen Macpherson Smith Trust

    Loti and Victor Smorgon Family Foundation

    Erdi Foundation

    Hansen Little Foundation

    William Buckland Foundation

    Rowe Family Foundation

    PwC Australia

  • Who manages Make Room?

    Unison Housing will manage the day-to-day operations of Make Room and will also provide tenancy management, maintain the building and arrange for the onsite 24/7 security. 

    cohealth staff based onsite will deliver support services to residents, including health and independent living skills support services. cohealth will also arrange for allied health support services to be provided onsite, including podiatry, physiotherapy, dietetics and dental.  

    Ngwala Willumbong (Ngwala) will support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community members to transition into their tenancies as well as help them sustain their Make Room tenancy. 

    This service collaboration will support people to transition to and sustain their tenancy at Make Room, and help them transition into their next home.  

  • How will Make Room integrate smoothly and safely into the neighbourhood?

    When residents move in from early 2025, Unison Housing will provide 24/7 security services onsite at Make Room, focusing on safety and engaging with residents in a strength-based, client-centered approach. 

    Unison Housing and our partners will: 

    * Provide reception services for residents and visitors

    * Implement rooming house rules, including visitor check-ins

    * De-escalate any conflicts and tense situations

    * Coordinate responses for any after-hours incident

    Security staff will collaborate with Victoria Police and other emergency services as needed and will receive trauma-informed training to support residents compassionately and sensitively. 

    We recognise that neighbours and businesses near any new supportive housing may have questions and want to know more about how we will support them to introduce this important initiative. We will continue to work closely with neighbours and businesses and will provide an opportunity for neighbours to visit the building and ask the Project Team questions about Make Room. 

    Tenanting of the site will commence in early 2025. This will be a gradual process over a number of months (five-to-eight residents per week) to ensure each resident receives the tailored support and care they need to achieve their long-term housing goals. 

    If you have feedback about Make Room once resident have moved in you can share it via our feedback form.

    Follow this page to stay informed on future activities and news updates. 

  • Make Room Timeline

    Initial Community consultation  
    4 July to 5 August 2021 

    Housing provider appointed to refurbish the building at 602 Little Bourke Street 
    August 2021 

    Agreement for Lease (AFL) signed with Unison Housing 
    May 2022 

    Appointment of architects and builder to undertake early works 
    July 2022 

    Announcement of main building contract being signed and the project works schedule 
    October 2023 

    Building refurbishment works underway 
    October 2023 

    Appointment of cohealth as service provider 
    May 2024 

    Completion, and finalisation of operating model 
    November 2024 

    Local Community Engagement Opportunities  
    November 2024 

    Official Ministerial opening  
    December 2024 

    Commencement of residents moving in 
    January 2025 

     

  • What is the Make Room Supportive Housing Partnership?

    Make Room aims to transform the lives of our city’s most vulnerable people by creating a dignified and supportive pathway from the streets to a place of safety, dignity, and healing.  

    Unison, in conjunction with City of Melbourne and in partnership with cohealth, Ngwala Willumbong and the Victorian Government, will deliver the Make Room Supportive Housing Partnership at 602 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne.  

    Make Room will provide comprehensive housing and support services to individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.  

    Make Room offers a unique opportunity to reduce street homelessness in the City of Melbourne, providing housing and support for 50 people at a time. This initiative will significantly aid efforts to achieve ‘functional zero’ homelessness, which is when experiences of homelessness in a community are rare, brief and non-recurring.  

    Make Room will prioritise the most vulnerable on the By Name List (BNL). The By Name List is a point-in-time tool that measures the level of homelessness within the municipality and monitors people on a case-by-case basis. The aim is to provide support for these vulnerable people, tailoring specialists with the ultimate aim of creating pathways into permanent housing. 

    The partnership brings long standing familiarity and expertise in addressing the complex needs of those on the BNL, most of whom experience long-term recurring homelessness, serious health issues, and the ongoing effects of prolonged trauma.  

    Unison will be managing the renter tenancies while cohealth will provide wraparound health and social supports to help people live at Make Room and transition to longer-term sustainable housing.  

    Make Room residents will stay for up to 12 months, or until they have housing. 

  • What is the service delivery model?

    Make Room is designed to provide more than just housing; it offers place-based care aimed at improving the health, wellbeing, housing, and social outcomes of people experiencing primary homelessness in the City of Melbourne. The project adopts a human rights approach to housing and healthcare, prioritising the reduction of harm and the delivery of trauma-informed, consumer-directed, holistic, and strengths-based support. 

    Aligned with Housing First principles as the overarching framework, Make Room ensures that housing is provided without preconditions, recognising stable housing as a fundamental right and an essential foundation for improving other aspects of life. Residents will receive ongoing support from housing workers, helping them to maintain their tenancies and navigate the challenges associated with transitioning from homelessness to stable housing. 

    Additionally, Make Room offers access to a wide range of health and social services tailored to the unique needs of each individual. Specialist health services will be integrated into the program to address the complex health needs often experienced by people who experience homelessness. Through this comprehensive approach, Make Room aims to create lasting, positive change for its residents, ensuring they have the tools and support needed to thrive. 

Project Background

Supporting community  


Our whole community benefits when we work collaboratively to help people out of homelessness. We’ve seen that people can take back control of their lives when housing and tailored support is available. 

Economic benefits  

  • Access to quality housing is critical for Melbourne’s liveability and economy. 
  • Research shows that for every $1 invested in affordable housing, there is a $3 benefit to the community due to worker retention, educational benefits, enhanced human capital, health cost savings, and reduced family violence and crime. It is an investment in both essential infrastructure and people. 
  • In addition to helping our community’s most vulnerable people, the project created more than 70 jobs during its construction phase, and will create dozens of ongoing clinical, cleaning and maintenance roles when the building opens.  

Designing the service  

  • Unison’s extensive experience as a housing and homelessness services provider has brought best practice leadership to the design. 
  • As part of the consultation process, Cultural Safety Guidelines were developed that included an intensive engagement process with Aboriginal people with insights into homelessness. These guidelines have informed the development of culturally appropriate design and service delivery models to ensure residents feel welcome and safe. 
  • The transitional supportive housing for up to 50 residents at 602 Little Bourke Street draws on a range of national and international best practice supported housing models. 
  • Each studio apartment includes a bedroom, kitchenette and ensuite bathroom. There are 10 apartments per level across five levels. 
  • It also includes a rooftop space and garden that enables interaction amongst the residents. 
  • Make Room will have a dedicated floor of 10 units which is called the Phoenix Floor. This floor is going to be a safe and affirming space for women who have experienced family violence. All onsite staff will have MARAM training. 
  • There will also be a floor or space on a dedicated floor for people who identify as non-binary or are part of the LGBTQI+ community. This space is part of Make Room’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive community. 

 
 

More info on the project