Woolloomooloo Social Homes Plan Turns A 1989 Vacancy Into A 15-Home Test
Homes NSW is preparing a Development Application for 15 social homes on vacant Nicholson Street land, with community feedback open until 30 October.
The vacant Nicholson Street site in Woolloomooloo proposed for 15 social homes.
Woolloomooloo has a small housing proposal with a long history behind it: Homes NSW is progressing plans to turn vacant Nicholson Street government land into 15 social homes after decades of non-use.
The site has been empty since a failed redevelopment in 1989, according to the NSW Government release. That makes the proposal less about opening a new growth front and more about whether public land in the inner city can finally be put back to work for housing.
The initial plan is for 13 one-bedroom and two two-bedroom social homes. Homes NSW has started community engagement before lodging a Development Application with the City of Sydney in December. Residents and community members are being asked to share what they value about Woolloomooloo and what they think of the proposal through a survey open until 30 October 2026.
That local engagement is not a side process. The government says feedback will help inform a Social Impact Report for the Development Application and shape design elements of the proposal. A community photo competition is also underway, with selected material potentially incorporated into artwork within the development.
For Woolloomooloo, the scale is modest but the location is sensitive. Fifteen homes will not solve Sydney's social housing shortage. But a small project in an established, well-connected suburb can still matter if it gives people access to jobs, health services, transport and community facilities without pushing them to the edge of the city.
The proposal also tests a common government claim: that underused public land should carry more of the housing task. That line is easy to support in theory and harder to execute in suburbs with strong identity, heritage constraints and residents who have watched previous plans stall or fail. The design, social impact work and council assessment will need to show how new homes fit into Woolloomooloo's character rather than simply landing on it.
The local political history is part of the story too. The release credits Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich with long-running advocacy for the site, while Housing Minister Rose Jackson frames the plan as a response to a housing crisis and a way to make better use of government-owned land close to jobs and services.
The verified facts are narrow but useful: 15 social homes are proposed, the land has been vacant since a failed 1989 redevelopment, Homes NSW is engaging ahead of a December Development Application, and community feedback is open until 30 October. The next meaningful evidence will be the DA itself, because that is where residents will see the design, impacts and delivery pathway in detail.
From the desk. Sydney and Surrounds is a practical local newsroom for Greater Sydney. If there is something in your suburb that deserves more attention, we would like to hear about it.
