Boarding house plays down fears of sell-off
THE manager of a New Town boarding house says speculation the historic property would be demolished had caused the 50 residents who call it home unnecessary stress this week.
Site manager Chris Croft said Flint House had not been sold and was not being demolished to make way for private townhouses, as was falsely reported this week.
Flint House, or New Town Accommodation, houses about 50 people who would struggle to find somewhere to live in the private rental market.
There are two properties on separate titles at Flint House.
The main boarding house has 40 rooms. Another smaller property, known as the “grey building”, has 11 rooms.
Mr Croft said a DA lodged by the property’s owners with the Hobart City Council to demolish the “grey building” and build townhouses had been approved.
He said no firm decision on the development had yet been made. If the smaller building is demolished there is room inside the bigger house to accommodate those living in the other house.
“The smaller building is definitely past its due-by date,’’ Mr Croft said.
“The initial plan was to demolish that building and build new apartments. That is not decided yet. Another purpose-built facility could be built, but either way the people living in the grey building would be housed inside the main Flint House if it is pulled down.
“If Flint House is full when that decision is made, residents would not be thrown on the street.
“They would be accommodated somewhere else. The false report this week that they would have to move out had residents very upset.
“There is not a chance in hell I would let our residents be homeless, especially given the current state of housing availability in Hobart.”
There are also renovations inside the heritage-listed main building to make it more comfortable for residents.
Opposition housing spokeswoman Ella Haddad said the owners needed to clearly outline their plans to put the speculation to rest.
“Since the sale of Flint House more than a year ago, it has been the understanding of people in the housing sector the site would be redeveloped and the 50 residents moved on,” Ms Haddad said.
“The council has recently approved a DA for luxury townhouses to be built on the site. However, the new site manager of Flint House has told me this week that residents will remain in the main building long-term, and he is uncertain if the townhouses will go ahead.
“This confusion has caused unnecessary stress for residents.”