Assemble reserve apartments for key workers and offer rental deductions at Kensington project
The socially-conscious property developer Assemble are offering rental concessions for key workers in their Kensington project 393 Macaulay Road.
seven apartments have been reserved exclusively for key workers as part of the Key Worker Program, which will offer a 20 per cent rental concession for those on a moderate income and work within the City of Melbourne or in surrounding suburbs.
The likes of school teachers, medical professionals, carers, social workers, emergency services, arts and culture, and hospitality and service industry workers fall in to the key worker category.
Eligible key worker applicants will lease their apartments under the developer’s innovative Assemble Futures housing concept and will receive a 20% rent concession for the total lease period of five years. At the end of the lease, applicants will have the option to purchase the property at an agreed price.
Assemble Managing Director, Kris Daff said that last year highlighted the vital role that key workers play in our society.
"This is our opportunity to give back in a meaningful way," Daff said.
"This includes frontline workers, such as our health and emergency services personnel, but also our local barista and the team working at the news agency.
“We have been collaborating with the City of Melbourne over the past three years to design our Key Worker Program that ensures our most essential workers have access to quality housing near their place of employment at a reasonable rental price,” said Mr Daff.
Designed by Fieldwork, the apartment development comprises 73 apartments over eight levels and is located three kilometres north-west of Melbourne’s CBD in Kensington.
The project topped out in March and will welcome residents toward the end of the year.
393 Macauley Road was identified as one of Resilient Melbourne’s Resilient Communities (an initiative of 100 Resilient Cities – pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation).
Assemble are also developing a rent-to-buy apartment block in Brunswick.
The current factory site at 4 Ballarat Street, Brunswick will be converted by architecture firm Fieldwork to home 171 studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments.
The built form takes inspiration from the Brunswick streetscape, with Fieldwork’s design integrating raw materials such as corrugated iron, blue stone paving and concrete to create a timeless ribbed-textured ‘patina’ exterior.
Joel Robinson
Joel Robinson is the Editor in Chief at Apartments.com.au, where he leads the editorial team and oversees the country’s most comprehensive news coverage dedicated to the off the plan property market. With more than a decade of experience in residential real estate journalism, Joel brings deep insight into Australia’s evolving development landscape.
He holds a degree in Business Management with a major in Journalism from Leeds Beckett University in the UK, and has developed a particular expertise in off the plan apartment space. Joel’s editorial lens spans the full lifecycle of a project—from site acquisition and planning approvals through to new launches, construction completions, and final sell-out—delivering trusted, buyer-focused content that supports informed decision-making across the property journey
