The Campbell Section 5 project will be built on a 6.4 hectare site on the corner of Constitution Avenue and Anzac Parade.

It will consist of five sites of residential and mixed-use development with about 520 dwellings and a community park.

Local consortium SHL Development bought all five sites at a Land Development Agency auction in June for $64 million.

Now the proponents have lodged works approval applications with the National Capital Authority for the development of the first two sites.

Under the plans the two residential blocks fronting Anzac Parade will be constructed first and the three remaining blocks on Constitution Avenue would be released in further stages.

The most northern block will feature 50 two and three-bedroom apartments in three and six storey elements.

The largest site will consist of 205 one, two and three-bedroom apartments in six and eight storey elements, commercial space on the ground floor facing the park and one level of office space.

There will also be two roof top gardens on the sixth storey – one facing the park and one facing Anzac Park East.

Both buildings will have two levels of basement car parking.

Cox Architecture's Ronan Moss said the design of the buildings responded to the classic forms of the surrounding area and would be respectful of the precinct's proximity to Anzac Parade.

A refined palate of natural materials would be used to tie in with the memorials and institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery.

"They're quite conservative buildings but they'll be really active public domains and really active street life," he said.

"We've been very mindful of the fact that we're a backdrop to a very ceremonial street."

The architect said there had been a push to increase the amenity of living in the precinct, which included a focus on cross ventilation and solar orientation but also on communal space.

"I think in Canberra the apartment market is changing and probably maturing so we're seeing the delivery of all sorts of apartments recently in Canberra and I think over time we've learnt from that," Mr Moss said.

"What Campbell five is going to do I think is again lift the quality of living in what will be a mixed-use residential precinct."

SHL Development chief operating officer Terry Shaw said he planned to begin marketing the first two buildings following the ACT government's completion of the subdivision and landscaping work early next year.

He said while the design concepts had been completed for the further three sites there were a "few more pieces of the puzzle" to be determined.

"We're conscious of wanting to get going across the precinct so we're focused on those first two sites and now our attention is moving to the detailed consideration,' Mr Shaw said.

The block on the corner of Anzac Parade and Constitution Avenue was likely to have a hotel, he said.

Campbell Section 5 is one of a number of sites in the area being transformed under the Griffin Legacy, which is a strategy to guide the full realisation of Walter Burley Griffin's plan for the national capital.

This includes The Creswell Residences, which is across the road, and the redevelopment of the RSL national office on Constitution Avenue.

Under the legacy the road will become a vibrant mixed use boulevard linking London Circuit to Russell.