Bishop Bill Wright balanced a decorative bowl of holy water as he used a small tree branch to send droplets soaring onto the $2.5 million Little Hunter Street project.

Bishop Wright led a small congregation of special guests in a prayer to bless the units and the people who will live there. 

He asked God to bless the precinct with hospitality, fun and laughter, friendship and hope. 

“It’s that sense of cleansing, of giving life, of connecting with water,” he said.

Each unit has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a car space with a garage door and a courtyard. 

Four of the units are already occupied.

Bishop Wright said the units would help meet the demand for affordable housing in the city.

“It helps people get over the line who are in the market but are not quite getting there, it’s a contrast to social housing,” he said. 

The housing operates under the national rental affordability scheme.

This means tenants will receive a 20 per cent discount off the market rent. 

Sean Scanlon, the diocese vice chancellor of administration, said the injection reflected the long association the diocese has had with Maitland over the past 150 years. 

“We’re in the process of identifying tenants for the other properties,” he said.

“We’re looking for people with lower incomes who are working in essential services and are providing a service to the community.” 

Meanwhile, Compass Housing projects in Rutherford, Telarah, East Maitland and Woodberry will share in $145,000 worth of upgrades thanks to money from the state government’s social housing community improvement fund.

The money will be used for a range of projects including new recreational spaces, extra lighting and CCTV cameras, landscaping, pathways and fencing. 

Work will soon begin on these projects.