Collingwood Town Hall Precinct affordable key worker housing

Yarra City Council will pause its search for a development partner for the proposed affordable housing project next to Collingwood Town Hall, following a market process that highlighted the funding challenges facing projects of this kind.  

The project – first proposed to provide at least 50 affordable rental homes for local key workers – has faced a significant hurdle in that the current funding model doesn't yet add up for developers or community housing providers to deliver it.

About

Council investigated the feasibility of leasing approximately 2,000 square metres of land at the end of Eddy Court in Abbotsford, behind Collingwood Town Hall, for affordable housing.

The lease would have enabled the development of rental housing for key workers: people who work in Yarra in roles like teaching, nursing, police, retail and hospitality. This affordable housing would allow workers who traditionally can’t afford rent in Yarra to settle in the city they work in.  

At the Council Meeting on Tuesday 14 April 2026, Council considered community feedback on this proposal and voted to begin a process to identify a development partner for the site.  

The development partner would lease the land and would be responsible for the design, approvals, construction and operation of the affordable housing project. At that meeting, the project requirements were also confirmed. Those requirements include:

• A maximum of 8 storeys  
• A pedestrian link through the site connecting Eddy Court Reserve, the Collingwood Town Hall, and the Djerring Centre
• Respecting the important heritage context in which it sits plus and incorporating Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD).

The Council’s requirements will be secured by way of conditions in the lease. There will be a requirement for monitoring, compliance, and reporting.

What has happened so far

Council's Expression of Interest process, run earlier this year, drew solid interest from the housing sector – 62 organisations registered to review the opportunity, and 24 attended an online briefing. But when it came to firm proposals, the evaluation found no respondent could deliver the project within Council’s parameters, which required at least 50 below-market-rent homes without Council providing capital or ongoing funding.  

Next steps  

Council has determined that the current search be wound up for now, with all participating organisations to be notified. Importantly, the site itself isn't going anywhere, and the project isn't being abandoned. It remains a Council priority that could be revisited if funding or market conditions change or if any project enabling factors arise.

In the meantime, Council will use the findings from this process to strengthen its case to state and federal governments for the capital and policy support needed to make affordable housing projects like this one viable.