A Sunshine Coast modular homes builder has finished its biggest project in five decades, delivering an array of homes to an island community in just eight months.
Oly Homes completed nine residences for locals at Thursday Island, via a collaboration with the state government and the Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust.
Constructed at Oly Homes’ Yandina and Cooroy factories, the company’s general manager Steven Nousala described it as the most challenging project in its history.
“We are so thrilled to have delivered this project on time and within budget for the people of Thursday Island,” he said.
“We know housing supply and affordability is a major issue within the community and modular homes provide a great solution as land supply and construction costs make the delivery of new homes more challenging.
“We’ve worked closely with the Queensland Government as well as the Uniting Church and local stakeholders to design these homes with the local climate and cultural needs at the top of our priority.
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“We’ve also added turfing, fencing and driveways for each home so it’s a high-quality finish where I am sure each resident will be incredibly house proud.
“We are very proud of the way our team has completed, delivered and installed these homes in just eight months.
“A project of this size and scale should take up to two years but we knew that supplying housing to the local community was a major priority so we worked hard to meet this super tight deadline.”
The homes were built on the Sunshine Coast and then split into two pieces for transport on semi-trailers to Cairns.
They were then moved onto a barge for the three-day ocean journey to Thursday Island, and then installed on a block of land.
Uniting Church in Australia Queensland Synod moderator the Reverend Bruce Moore said it was important to provide affordable homes for Thursday Island families.
“The Thursday Island community is remarkable and we give thanks to them and the Torres Strait Thursday Island Uniting Church congregation for their commitment and partnership,” he said.
“Projects like this cannot be delivered in remote locations like Thursday Island without the collaboration between the Queensland Government, the local community including the Uniting Church and private enterprise.
“We thank all of the stakeholders who have helped bring this project to life as we work towards supporting the close knit community of Thursday Island.
“These homes are incredible and built specifically for our community’s needs and the quality finishes provide a homely welcome for each of the tenants.”
