The Huttonham Estate in Preston was one of Victoria’s first public housing estates when it was built in the 1940s.
Once home to 60 families, the houses were demolished five years ago and the land has been untouched and vacant ever since.
Now the Victorian government has revealed plans to build 68 public housing units and an unknown number of privately-owned dwellings on the land.
Housing groups say the land should be used for its intended purpose of housing low-income residents amid skyrocketing property prices in Melbourne.