A new $15.7 million housing development that will provide affordable and secure long-term accommodation for women-led families has opened in the Adelaide CBD.

The seven-storey development - the first of its kind in the city - has 24 affordable rental apartments for women, and their children, at risk of homelessness.

The apartments, which are one, two and three-bedroom, are exclusively offered as affordable rentals at 75 per cent of the market rate for an equivalent property.

The development, by Australia's only national specialist women's housing provider YWCA Australia, also features a communal alfresco space on level six which overlooks Adelaide's Park Lands.

It will accommodate up to 57 residents, who are women and their family members on low to moderate incomes, with the first residents to arrive in late March.

YWCA Australia Chief Executive Officer Michelle Phillips said the development was "more than just a roof over someone's head".

"This is a starting point for someone to build the future they want, with the security of a safe and affordable home," she said.

She said the project was a first for YWCA Australia in Adelaide.

"We made a bold decision to invest into a project where we could build long-term, affordable homes in a new location for us, where we knew there was a need in the community," Ms Phillips said.

"And this is just the beginning.

"YWCA has ambitious plans to grow affordable housing so that we can meet the unique needs of women and gender-diverse people and we look forward to working with the South Australian Government on creating more homes in the future."

The South Australian Government supported the project through a $5 million no-interest loan repaid with a 20-year term from the SA Housing Trust.