In 2024 and 2025, Wesley Mission commenced planning to transform a block of land in Curtin, Canberra into 83 affordable rental homes and 15 supported housing units. Communication Link designed and led engagement with the community to inform the final design and to socialise the new development.
Key highlights
- 363 people shared ideas and feedback
- 267 attendances to engagement events and activities
- 463 individual comments received
- Liaised with a diverse project team including the design firm, project management firm, a community non-profit organisation and a local church.
- Intentional workshop activities to get the community involved in developing ideas and solutions for key issues
- Developed a website for the project, to communicate engagement opportunities and engagement findings
- Strong participation was a direct result of effective promotion
- Final report demonstrated how feedback had influenced final designs
Service delivery
The proposal included 83 affordable rental apartments to be leased to tenants at 74.9% of market rent to key workers on lower incomes, and 15 long term supported housing apartments in a separate ‘MyHome’ building for people with enduring mental illness.
Engagement aimed to build trust, share the objectives of the development, gather feedback on opportunities and challenges, and seek ideas for public and shared spaces on the site. Activities included community council and resident association meetings, pop up stalls at local shops, an online survey and a community workshop.
The project team included several stakeholder organisations. Communication Link were careful to sensitively ensure all project partners were involved throughout the process, which helped to build ownership of the engagement program and trust in the integrity of the engagement.
Iterative, design led engagement was a key feature of the project. We summarised insights at each stage of the 14-week engagement and the design and project team adjusted as needed. This helped focus subsequent engagement and build trust with the community and stakeholders as they saw the listening in action.