Construction is set to begin on 20 units in Chisholm as the ACT government forges ahead with an overhaul of the city's ageing public housing stock.
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The development is the first stage of a four-year plan to renew 1288 older dwellings as part of the government's "salt and pepper" public housing approach to avoid concentrations of disadvantage.
A group of two-bedroom, single-storey units will be built on the corner of Hambidge and Goldstein crescents next to the Pines Tennis Club and Caroline Chisholm School.
Blackett Property Group has started work on the buildings, which should be ready for tenants in 2016.
Owner Geoff Howarth said the project would be a boon for the ACT's builders, contractors and suppliers and provide work for more than 100 people throughout construction.
Tuggeranong Community Council vice president Wayne King believed the development was "a positive thing" but said a few residents were still concerned.
"We've been speaking to some of the people who are likely to move in and they are just people like you and I. I think people have got nothing to worry about," he said.
The government has detailed sites for 361 new public housing units and houses in Chisholm and Monash in Tuggeranong, as well as on multiple sites in Coombs, Moncrieff and Amaroo.
Twenty-five units will be built at 196 Clive Steele Avenue in Monash, near the Isabella Drive intersection.
The developments will replace units in Northbourne Avenue; the Allawah, Bega and Currong flats in the city; and large public housing blocks in Griffith, Woden and Red Hill.
ACT Housing Minister Yvette Berry said the renewal would provide more modern accommodation for a variety of tenants, including women who experienced domestic violence, young people, the elderly and those with mobility problems.
"We need to build better, higher-quality housing that's easier to maintain, easier to heat and cool and that better suits our tenants' needs," she said.
The government advertised for proposals from builders, developers and property owners, who could build or offer their developments for public housing, earlier this year.
Ms Berry said discussions with residents were ongoing as the government planned to move the 1500 tenants from ageing buildings during four years.
"We're continuing the conversations with our current public housing tenants who are part of the renewal program to find out where in Canberra they want to live; whether that's closer to their schools, closer to public transport or closer to their families," Ms Berry said.
"We're starting to work with our Bega [Court] tenants in the city to find out where they want to live across the ACT, and we'll start identifying different sites and suburbs as people tell us whereabouts in the ACT they want to live."
