Philanthropists Ian and Neva Handy at the sod turning for a new $10.5 million housing development for disadvantaged families.

THIS couple wins Valentine’s Day! They have given away land so 50 families can beat the housing affordability crisis.

Ian and Neva Handy gifted over 9,000sq m (0.9ha) of land north of Brisbane to kickstart a $10,5 million affordable housing project by their church.

The pair donated the land to the not-for-profit Churches of Christ Housing Services, which began construction of 50 townhouses.

An artist’s impression of the $10.5m affordable living project by the Churches of Christ Housing Services. The project went ahead after Ian and Neva Handy donated over 9,000sq m of land for it.

The Handys turned the sod on the Kallangur site on Monday so that construction could kick off.

Mr Handy told The Courier-Mail that they had planned on building the townhouses themselves initially but found that it would be a lot more cost effective if a charitable organisation did it.

“It’s a big hunk of land, over 9000sq m. We had it valued and it was about $2.5m. I’m sure a lot of people can benefit from being able to live in those units, they’re well designed for seniors and disabled too.”

The 50 townhouses would be targeted at people on low to moderate income, seniors and people living with disability, according to COC Housing services general manager Frances Paterson-Fleider.

“The financial challenge of developing affordable housing is often about the cost of the land, rather than actual construction costs.”

She said the project was an opportunity to use private capital and philanthropic resources for social returns.

The $10.5m affordable living project will see a mix of one, two and three bedroom townhouses at Kallangur north of Brisbane for low to moderate income families.

“Our aim is to provide quality housing solutions in empowered communities, with the support

of the Handy family we are achieving that here in Kallangur.”

The mix of one, two and three bedroom townhouses were scheduled for completion in early October. They sit in one of the fastest growing parts of the Brisbane region – Moreton Bay.

The median house price in Kallangur in the past 12 months was $365,000, with the median unit price at $305,750, according to CoreLogic Market Trends.

Churches of Christ Housing Services has developed over 1,200 homes in the state and by the end of 2017 will deliver a further 95 homes for people on low to moderate incomes struggling in the private market.