Lonsdale Street's transformation into a cosmopolitan thoroughfare is picking up speed, with another significant development to begin construction in four months.
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Work on a six-storey development at 28 and 30 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, is expected to begin in the second half of the year, forcing current tenants such as the popular Debacle pub to relocate.
Dubbed ''Alluvion on Lonsdale'', it's the first of two developments in the pipeline for Nick Bulum, a director at B & T Construction and one of the owners of the Lonsdale Street properties.
He said two local architects had been engaged to transform the northern end of Lonsdale Street, with the facing developments to create a bustling thoroughfare while retaining the community feel of the street.
''It will bring life to the city,'' he said. ''Right now when you go to Garema Place, it's a ghost town. I think Canberra needed this a long time ago.''
Mr Bulum's Lonsdale Street store, Unit Concepts, will move into commercial space across the road once the initial development begins.
It is understood that Debacle will relocate to the Mode 3 development currently under construction at the corner of Lonsdale and Eloura Streets. When completed, the development - not owned by Mr Bulum and his associates - will house 115 residential units, 3000 square metres of office space and 2000 square metres of retail space.
Mr Bulum said it would take between 18 months and two years to build Alluvion on Lonsdale, with plans for the second project still awaiting approval. If granted, he said the dual projects would create an atmosphere similar to Melbourne's famed laneways through a variety of design quirks by fresh, interesting architects.
Architect Fred Kasparek, who designed plans for initial development at 28 and 30 Lonsdale Street, said the first two storeys were dedicated to commercial space, including outdoor cafes.
''The idea behind the design is to introduce a cosmopolitan atmosphere,'' he said.
The first two storeys will incorporate an arcade down the centre of the building, allowing the facilities on the second level to look down into the void.
The final four storeys will house one, two and three-bedroom apartments with outlooks to either Lonsdale Street or Mount Ainslie.
Mr Kasparek said there were also small details built in to set the development apart from the norm.
''The walls aren't perfectly parallel with the boundary,'' he said.
''They splay in 10 degrees to create a little alcove.''
Mr Kasparek said the outlook would mimic plans for the facing development, consisting of two-storey street frontage with the remaining levels set further back on the block.
If approved, construction on the second development is expected to begin within two years once the first development has been completed.
Architect Erin Hinton's designs cover the opposite side of the street currently accommodating businesses such as Café Bamboo and he said the plans included an eight-metre void or ''vertical street'', allowing natural light to filter through the centre of the building.