THE EAVE GROUP

We help deliver more homes to those who need them most.

Affordable housing advisory for Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Funding, planning, feasibility and delivery support.

Kristen Saul and Kaz McBride-Chau, co-founders

Why we exist.

More homes are needed than ever, and community housing providers are being asked to deliver them.

The need is growing

Demand for homes that people on lower incomes can afford keeps rising and the funding to build them is out there.

Capacity is stretched

We know work comes in waves and resourcing can be challenging. That's where we can help.

What we do.

We work with community housing providers and the private sector to deliver more homes, with a focus on smaller infill sites.

  1. Portfolio and site reviews

    Finding opportunities for more homes on land you already hold.

  2. Feasibility and due diligence

    Testing options, yield and viability for your best sites.

  3. Funding

    Preparing applications, shaping the capital stack, and managing compliance and milestone claims.

  4. Approvals

    Preparing permit-ready applications and managing them through council.

  5. Delivery

    Acting as your development team from feasibility to handover, including connecting developers with community housing providers.

Who we work with.

  • Community housing providers ready to deliver more homes.
  • Developers with a smaller site considering affordable housing.

Who we are

  • 40 years' combined experience.
  • From planning through to handover.
  • Homes for people who need them.

We're a small, experienced team, so you work with us from start to finish. We work alongside your staff and shape our support around what your organisation needs.

Kristen SaulUrban planning, economics and social impact.Kaz McBride-ChauSales, development management and community housing.

Selected experience.

Work we led before founding Eave.

  • Australia's first Common Ground project

    Supported housing · Camperdown, Sydney

    104 homes in a six-storey building, providing secure, long-term housing for people who have experienced homelessness. Kristen was the lead planner, coordinating the statutory approval, social impact assessment and master planning, working closely with Mission Australia, the local council, and the development and design teams.

    Kristen Saul

  • Delivering homes inside a community housing provider

    Community housing and private development · Victoria

    Five years in development management at CEHL, Victoria's leading co-operative housing provider, followed by development management for premium residential developers Salta Properties and Lowe Living. Kaz brings delivery experience from both community housing and high-end apartments.

    Kaz McBride-Chau

  • Making the case for supported housing

    Community housing and health partnership · Inner Melbourne

    A proposed redevelopment combining new supported housing for people with complex needs, wraparound support services and an out-patient health facility on the same site. Kristen led the economic impact assessment for the business case seeking state government funding through the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, showing the wider social, health and housing benefits beyond the cost of the build.

    Kristen Saul

Our goal is simple: get the pipeline moving and get more homes built.

Working on a site, a funding bid or a stuck project? We'd love to hear what's in your way.

Get in touch

Or find us on LinkedIn: Kristen Saul and Kaz McBride-Chau.