There are two food courts, two office towers located at the southern side of the centre and a newly built hotel.

[9] The site of the current shopping centre was once extensive paddocks of the Convent of the Good Shepherd on which cattle grazed until the mid-1950s.

During the project the senior board of Myer was unhappy with the process, concerned that the architects did not understand the "Australian Concept", and were blindly adopting the American shopping mall model.

During the same period a bowling alley and auditorium were opened, and the Dickens store was altered to be more easily accessed from the mall.

[13] In the early 1980s, the Myer Emporium sold the shopping centre to the Gandel Group, which has since managed and developed the complex.

A major extension doubled the lettable area in the late 1980s, and during the same era the Convent of the Good Shepherd was demolished to extend the carpark of the complex.

Chadstone initially held both of these titles from its original opening day to 2002 and was quickly inspired to take back the records.

[18] The new extension, dubbed "Chadstone Place", featured a Woolworths Supermarket (the first Woolworth supermarket in Victoria to have the new branding and relocated), First Choice Liquor, Aldi and a Dick Smith Electronics Concept Store along with an airport-style waiting area bus interchange, two new health clubs (Contours and Fitness First Platinum) and a crèche.

Named "The Loop Mall", it featured 44 new stores including a redesigned Jetty Surf and new entrances opposite Kmart and Toys 'R' Us.

[23] On 20 August 2011, managing director of Colonial First State Global Asset Management, Darren Steinberg, announced a proposal to expand Chadstone's floor area to 221,217m², to enable a redevelopment of the oldest part of the property to the north and construct two buildings of up to 14 storeys on its southern boundary facing Princes Highway.

[2][25] The project, scheduled to be completed in late 2015[26] at a cost of A$520 million, will be the biggest non-retail extension in the centre's history.

The northern expansion, including a new Target store on the lower ground floor, would be accommodated within a four-level glass-roofed atrium.

The renovated section includes many global brands such as H&M, Sephora, Uniqlo, and many others Legoland Discovery Centre indoor theme park was later announced to open as part of the new development.

A planning panel report said problems also arose from overflow parking in nearby streets at peak times such as Christmas and major sales.

The panel concluded that the ability to further expand floor space would be limited unless road capacity was enhanced through major arterial roadworks and a substantial shift in the mode of transport for visitors and staff.

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) and Town and Country Planning Authority (TCPA) support an extension of the Alamein railway line to Oakleigh railway station via Chadstone for either Tram or Train services[39] and the RACV has also asked the state government to consider providing an underground rail link.

[46] Stonnington Council has proposed a Municipal Strategic Statement and Local Planning Policy in which it would seek a fixed rail link to Chadstone Shopping Centre.

The major retailers, which are located at either end of the centre, include David Jones, Myer, H&M, Sephora, Uniqlo, Zara, Muji, Apple, Target, Kmart, Cotton On, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Rebel Sport, JB Hi-Fi, Strike Bowling Bar, Legoland Discovery Centre and Hoyts Cinema.