Monash City Council is not giving up on its push to secure housing opportunities for a vacant site in Chadstone, despite a housing agency pulling out of a deal two years ago.
What’s happening? Councillors voted not to progress with plans to deliver affordable housing at 65A Power Avenue, in Chadstone, during September’s council meeting.
The decision came after the project was first agreed to in 2021, and has many councillors wondering what is going on.
During the meeting, councillors agreed to contact the Eastern Homelessness Network to seek proposals on how to use the site.
How’d we get here? The drama surrounding the potential housing site began in March 2021, when Monash Council decided to lease the vacant council-owned land for development as social housing by a registered housing agency.
In October 2023, the council selected HousingFirst to deliver the project, with an initial design including 48 units of one to three bedrooms over three storeys.
About seven months later, HousingFirst pulled out due to funding issues.
In September 2025, the council asked for a report into the potential options to deliver affordable housing on the site. The report ultimately found that delivering 100 percent social housing at the site is “unlikely to be feasible” under the current government funding settings.
What they said: Monash councillor Josh Fergeus said it was a “ludicrous situation” for the council to be unable to develop the land as affordable housing.
Monash Council mayor Stuart James said he was also “bewildered” and “absolutely flabbergasted” that the council was in this position.
🗣️ “It is beyond disappointing that we have a vacant piece of land that’s been sitting dormant … that we just can’t get anyone to build housing on when we’re in the midst of a housing crisis,” he said.