This week would have marked the beginning of the 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games.
Instead, the spotlight is on the “legacy” projects promised in the wake of the event’s cancellation.
Among them is the Flora Hill residential housing development in Bendigo’s south-east.
Land on Osborne St, next to the Lar Burpa Athletics Complex was previously identified as a potential site for an “Athletes’ Village”, which would be converted into social and affordable homes after the Games were complete.
When the event was cancelled, the Victorian government promised those dwellings would still be built on the site.
Works are now underway and expected to be complete by 2028, as the need for low-cost housing increases.
According to Domain Group’s chief of research and economics, Dr Nicola Powell, the market for “entry level” properties is growing at a faster rate than that of “premium” homes.
“What we’ve seen is much stronger rates of price growth at that entry level, and we’re expecting that to continue,” Dr Powell said.
“That in itself really demonstrates the lack of affordable housing we have across the nation.”
Meantime, another legacy project is being realised at the Bendigo Bowls Club on Barnard St.
A redevelopment of the facility has gone ahead as planned, despite it no longer hosting lawn bowls competitions as part of the Games.
The state government expects that project to be complete by the end of the year.
Bendigo was to be one of five “regional hubs” for the 2026 Games, hosting table tennis, track cycling, netball, 3-on-3 basketball and squash events, as well as lawn bowls.
The other locations flagged as hubs were Ballarat, Geelong, Shepparton and the Latrobe Valley in Gippsland.
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