Nightingale Housing has its sights set on Bendigo for its first regional venture, having established itself in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in recent years.

Creating ‘quality, sustainable, cost effective housing’ for owner-occupiers is the stated aim of the initiative, which was created by architects in response to the barriers preventing people from entering the market.

Andrew Maynard – a director of both Nightingale Housing and Austin Maynard Architects – said the idea was not to create ‘cheap’ housing, which would be inefficient to run and maintain long-term.

“We’re trying to create homes that are high-quality, cost-effective and highly sustainable,” he said.

RELATED: Lawyer's groups say funding of new Bendigo court 'wonderful news'

Existing projects in Melbourne suburbs such as Brunswick include 20 apartments and are priced between $415,000 to $690,000.

“What we do in a regional area will look different,” Mr Maynard said.

“There’s a different community with different needs and I think the building will therefore become something unique to its space.”

He said pricing would be determined by a number of factors, including the cost of land.

Nightingale Housing is searching for the ideal site for the project.

“We will want to be central,” Mr Maynard said.

“We want to build housing that connects people.”

An information session has been planned for Handle Bar – at Mitchell Street, Bendigo – from 7pm on May 29.

RELATED: New project to bring 1000 public sector jobs into central Bendigo to enliven CBD

Haven; Home, Safe chief executive Ken Marchingo welcomed Nightingale Housing’s interest in Bendigo.

“If there’s a demand for that sort of project here in Bendigo I would wish them all the best,” he said.

“This really is an area where you need different styles of co-living, different levels of amenity and buildings and projects for different cohorts of people in the community.”

His comments come after housing affordability was largely overlooked in the 2018/19 federal budget, which was handed down earlier in the week.

“I’m hoping they’ve kept a few cards up their sleeve in this regard as they head towards the next federal election,” Mr Marchingo said of the government.

“This [housing affordability] is a real, pressing issue. It would be unthinkable that they would not be actively working in this space.”

Other community sector organisations such as the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army were vocal about their disappointment in the budget.

Vinnies national council chief executive Dr John Falzon said federal Treasurer Scott Morrison’s third budget was ‘irresponsible’ and would leave unemployed people, underemployed people, students and those struggling to pay high housing costs worse off.

Major Brad Halse, of The Salvation Army, said many states were doing their best to tackle housing affordability with the resources at their disposal.

“However, the problems we are experiencing in housing and homelessness must be driven by a national strategy, using the levers available to the Commonwealth Government and ensuring that funding is available that meets the scale of need both now and into the future,” he said.

“Last year's promising beginning in housing investment appears to have been a one-off, rather than the much-needed starting point for the future.”

Mr Maynard said Nightingale Housing was keen to test its model out in a regional area.

“I’m pretty convinced Bendigo is the right place,” he said, listing the city’s train line and plans for a ‘Gov Hub’ and new law courts as attractive factors.

“The 29^th is about engaging with the community and seeing if there’s an appetite”.

To register interest in attending the information evening, click here.