When a Building Becomes a Community

Creating community is at the centre of apartment living in Victoria Harbour. The precinct is taking a fresh approach to vertical living by implementing activities that encourage connection and collaboration amongst neighbours.

From trivia nights to potluck dinners, 883 Collins Street Building Manager, Dani Spencer, has seen the benefits of fostering a sense of community within a new building first-hand. She shares some of her tips to help develop a blossoming vertical neighbourhood.

Start with a welcome party

We always start with a welcome event once around 70 per cent of the building’s new residents have moved in. It’s a chance for them to meet the building staff and other residents and start forming those crucial relationships that make them feel connected to their home. Our first event at 883 was attended by over 200 residents, bringing the building to life with conversation, great food from local retailers and even a little bit of dancing! It was such a fantastic event that our residents are still talking about it.

Be present and accessible

We have a great spacious lobby entrance where you can often catch people as they come and go. These communal spaces provide an opportunity for residents to chat to each other and the conversations flow from there. It also allows building staff to check in with residents to respond immediately to any enquiries. It’s important to build a new community around this sense of belonging. And of course, we always love seeing the building’s dogs drag their owners over so we can give them a pat!

Create a Facebook group

Our residents have an active Facebook group for sharing quick updates including building news and events, weather warnings and social announcements. This platform is an easy way for residents to create their own thriving social hubs that align with their shared interests.  We still communicate most of our news through regular newsletters, but this group lets us have a more immediate, two-way conversation.

We also use an online resident portal that acts as a centralised hub where people can reserve shared amenities such as the cinema room, dining room or games room.

Hand it over to the residents

While my team is here to facilitate the building’s events and make introductions, ultimately we want to hand the reigns over to our residents to allow them to form their own social committee to plan regular events. We have our first trivia night this month and are excited to see 883 resident and quizmaster, Abhi, take the stage! The social committee is also planning potluck dinners and other community nights in the coming months. It’s genuinely a great community.