Stucco Housing Co-operative

From a co‑living expert perspective, Stucco Housing Co‑operative (commonly “Stucco”) is a long‑running, student‑focused co‑housing model adjacent to Newtown’s King Street, approximately a 15‑minute walk from the University of Sydney (USYD). Originating in the mid‑1980s as the Sydney University Housing Co‑operative, the group purchased the former F.W. Gissing glass factory on Wilson Street with funding in the late 1980s and established the cooperative as student accommodation in 1991. The site is heritage‑listed and retains an industrial aesthetic that influences both maintenance obligations and regulatory constraints. Physical and tenancy profile: Stucco is housed in a converted warehouse that accommodates roughly 40 USYD students across eight self‑contained units. It is explicitly aimed at providing equitable, affordable housing for low‑income students and is described as LGBTI‑friendly. The webpage lists weekly rent figures in different places ($105 and $135 per week), indicating potential variance or outdated figures; prospective applicants should verify current rates. The co‑op is partially owned or funded by the University but operates largely as a self‑managed, non‑profit cooperative, using rent income for building upkeep. Governance and daily operation: Stucco practices democratic self‑management through fortnightly General Meetings (GMs), where all residents participate in decision‑making ranging from major budget allocations to routine operational choices. Meetings follow formal procedures (speaking lists, hand signals and specific etiquette) developed over decades to enable consensus among forty members. Residents are expected to contribute to communal activities such as cooking communal dinners and performing maintenance tasks; the stated phrase is that residents “work for the building.” This model creates enduring internal norms and practices that are passed between cohorts of residents. Culture and social dynamics: The cooperative emphasizes community formation and collective responsibility. The resident identity (“Stuccwits”) and rituals around GMs, shared meals and maintenance foster continuity while allowing the co‑op to shift as new cohorts arrive. The environment is characterized as alternative and bohemian, with strong queer and progressive social dimensions. Challenges and visibility: Stucco faces typical co‑housing challenges—complex group decision‑making, bureaucratic procedures required for consensus, and significant upkeep costs tied to an aging, heritage‑listed structure. The University’s limited public presentation of Stucco contributes to lower visibility; outreach and recruitment are constrained by both institutional distance and the complexity of explaining the model to prospective tenants. Application: The webpage invites interested students to apply to be contacted when rooms become available, indicating intermittent vacancy management consistent with cooperative membership turnover.