MELVILLE council is poised to sign off on an agreement with Satterley Property Group to develop housing on the old Carawatha primary school site in Willagee.

The council purchased the site in 2005 as part of an $8.5 million package which included the Melville primary school site, and has since turned about a third into an award-winning park.

It chose Satterley from a range of applicants to form a joint venture for the redevelopment, and it now stands to make between $8m and $13m from the project, depending on how land values hold up.

The project will see the creation of 20 two-storey townhouses, 92 apartments in a mix of three to four storeys, eight duplex lots and 12 vacant blocks.

The development has mostly sailed through with local support, though Myaree resident Rod Evans reckons the whole site should have been reserved for open space.