There is no doubt that the Resilient Lands Program (RLP) has moved at a glacial pace; however, we may have to put those thoughts behind us and look at the exciting future that is now being created in Lismore.

The 4,500 m2 Military Road site in East Lismore has started work on the building of 50 build-to-rent units, which was first announced in April 2024. The Southern Cross University land was sold to the NSW Reconstruction Authority, which has enabled Landcom to complete community consultation, create a master plan and artist impressions of the new project before breaking ground.

The $30 million build-to-rent project has excavators, graders and diggers on site, as East Lismore locals around Military Road would know, preparing the site with drainage hydraulic work for stormwater diversion.

The build-to-rent East Lismore project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, weather permitting, so we should see over 100 new rental residents move in by the end of next year or early in 2027.

More good news is that local companies, such as O'Brien and RBC (civil contractors), with more on the way. The FKG Group is the company that has been awarded the contract. Kurt, who lives in Clunes, said there are tenders in the marketplace, and four local companies have submitted an application.

"The more local, the better," Kurt told the Lismore App.

An excited trio of people, Minister for Recovery and North Coast Janelle Saffin, Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg and Landcom Executive General Manager Tasha Burrell, were on site this afternoon to talk about the project and what it means for Lismore, as it truly enters the growth phase of flood recovery.

(Tasha Burrell from Landcom, Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin and Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg on site today talking about the project)

"It's about having 50 more dwellings in Lismore, and we need every single one, plus some," said Ms Saffin.

"We made a very clear statement with our council documents to include diverse housing," Mayor Krieg said. "We're surrounded by the traditional quarter-acre blocks, four bed, two bath. Not everyone wants that anymore. We need the units, the smaller apartment style."

"Today, it's all about this diverse housing and giving people a roof over their heads."

Landcom's Tasha Burrell said, "The great thing about build-to-rent is it's a secure, longer-term tenure, so that means that's much more stability for tenants in rental housing. These apartments here, as the minister and the mayor said, will fill the gap in the housing market and provide people with alternatives to larger detached houses. There will be smaller apartments that can accommodate single-person families and smaller families. Our project will help to provide greater housing choice, affordability and a security to address these local needs."

Ms Burrell said construction will be in a more traditional way, with some modular elements to fast-track completion. The make-up will be a mix of apartments.

"From studios right through one beds, two beds and three-bedroom apartments, so a good mix of size. And what we've done is a lot of research in this area. There's a lot of older tenants, a lot of single, lone households, and so we're accommodating to make sure that we have smaller apartments that will suit those family types."

Of the 50 rental apartments, 20 per cent will still be affordable housing apartments for low to middle-income earners.

How people are chosen to sign a lease agreement will be determined by a Community Housing Provider (CHP), who will manage the property. They are yet to be selected; however, Ms Burrell said that this should be determined in about six months' time. There will be some consideration given to essential workers for the broader rental inhabitants.

The weekly rental price will be determined by checking the market, "And then the affordable housing will be discounted to market rent, and the market rent will probably be at the lower end."

The rest of the 400 home sites on Crawford Road should also see some activity in 2026, as Landcom is also developing the rest of the project.

"They're happening concurrently. So, this is already at the point where it's starting construction today, and then we've got approvals to go through for the balance of the site. So when we get those approvers, we'll be moving quickly to get that underway as well.

When you see the Military Road site, you can't help but feel that this is the start of a really positive housing construction phase for Lismore, Something we have been waiting nearly four years for. There is excitement in the air.

"This is a game changer for Lismore," Mayor Kris said. "It really does put Lismore on the map as that growth centre. That's our goal as a Council, to grow the population of Lismore and get us back to that real regional centre that Lismore should and deserves to be."

"It's a really exciting project, and there are others in the pipeline through Landcom, we've got the Bristol Circuit, we've got Cynthia Wilson Drive, all catering to those different needs of the community, of those key workers and those people that might find themselves needing social housing."