Work has started on a 109-lot Homes Tasmania subdivision on Elderslie Road in Brighton, with the first blocks expected to go on sale in late 2027.
The $11.9 million project, next to the new Brighton High School around a 30-minute drive north of Hobart, will turn a 10.7-hectare site into a mix of private, social and affordable housing. Construction began in late August.
Of the 109 lots, 107 will be residential, one will be set aside for commercial use and one will be a road reserve.
Around 85% of the residential lots will be sold privately, with eligible buyers able to get help through the MyHome shared equity program.
Homes Tasmania will keep around 15% for future social and affordable housing.
Lots will range from 450 square metres, suitable for townhouses and units, to 1,000 square metres or more for larger family homes.
Housing and Planning Minister Kerry Vincent said the development would provide opportunities for people at all stages of their housing journey.
“Brighton is a growing community where people want to live and this site is ideally located close to public transport, education, employment and retail opportunities,” he said.
Asked whether this project would move faster than Homes Tasmania’s Huntingfield development, Vincent said the agency was “well aware of the issues there” and had “learnt from a lot of those processes that didn’t go to plan”.
He said those lessons included doing more homework early on services, the slope of the land and how a subdivision could be laid out.
Brighton mayor Leigh Gray said the municipality was growing by around 250 people a year and now had around 21,500 residents.
He said the council had worked with TasWater to secure a $10.2 million federal grant for a sewage pump station the subdivision will connect to.
Andrew Walter Constructions said the civil works would employ 60 people directly on site and provide work for 220 subcontractors.
The housing sector had picked up after a slow period of 12 to 18 months, the company said.
Homes Tasmania will work with its builders’ panels to get homes built and land sold, including to first home buyers.
