Residents have taken up occupancy in a new development of 135 houses and apartments at the 15-hectare St Patrick's site in Ballymena. Radius Housing built the dwellings with MJ McBride Construction as lead contractor. The homes reached full turnkey specification.

Co-Ownership customers now occupy 10 of the homes. Radius Housing tenants fill the remaining 125 units. The project mixes shared ownership and social housing in one community.

Glynis Hobson, director of customer services at Co-Ownership, stated that the initiative shows how tenants and homeowners can live side by side. She thanked Radius Housing for the delivery and expressed intent to work further with councils, housing associations, and developers on affordable homes.

The site holds strategic importance. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council plans a leisure and wellbeing centre, civic space, and PSNI station there. The project connects to the nearby Northern Regional College campus and includes road upgrades plus foot and cycle paths.

Co-Ownership has aided over 35,000 households in home ownership since 1978. The organization supported 9,000 households in the past decade, with property purchases topping £1 billion in value.

Hobson noted that Local Development Plans, adopted in six council areas, mandate affordable housing in larger new residential projects. These plans promote mixed-tenure sites with private, social, and shared ownership homes. Under shared ownership, buyers purchase 50 to 90 percent of a property, with Co-Ownership buying the rest.