Braddon's infamous dirt pit is less than two years away from hosting a sleek residential and commercial development, as work at the site restarts after five years of delays.
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Work on a six-storey development at 10-12 Lonsdale Street was halted five years ago over issues with the appointed builder.
Documents issued under Freedom of Information laws showed that ACTPLA issued a stop-work notice for the site in 2007, stating that work was being carried out without approval having been issued.
In 2008 ACT Metropolitan Building Certifiers issued correspondence to Shamim Bayzar of Deveron Developments regarding the stop-work notice, stating that ''the building licence issued in the name of Deveron Developments Pty Ltd and mentioned in the commencement notice for the building work has been cancelled by the Construction Occupations Register''.
As a result, building approval was suspended.
But the project, dubbed ''Arte'', is now back on track and due to be completed by early 2014, according to the Independent Property Group.
Sales and marketing director John Minns said delays to construction had also been caused by site remediation issues, after dry-cleaning fluid was detected on the site. ''It is now ticked off and approved,'' he said.
''What they need to do is assign a builder and start building.''
Arte is one of several develop- ments changing the face of Lonsdale Street, with the long-awaited Mode 3 project on the corner of Lonsdale and Elouera streets nearing completion.
When finished, the development will house 115 residential units, 3000sq m of office space and 2000sq m of retail space.
Colliers state chief executive Paul Powderly said construction on the residential and commercial development was running a few months behind schedule due to heavy rains throughout last year.
''At this stage, it's estimated to be finished in late August,'' he said.
Mr Powderly said several retailers and restaurants had already begun fitting out the new commercial space, including Debacle which will shift from its current location.
The original Debacle site is also earmarked for redevelopment with 28-30 Lonsdale Street to be flattened to make way for ''Alluvion on Lonsdale'', one of two projects planned for the northern end of Lonsdale Street.
The revitalisation of Braddon and Civic has also been allocated funding in the 2012-13ACT budget.
The $750,000 allocation will include funds for an overarching master plan for Lonsdale and Mort streets in Braddon, which will look at aspects like street lighting and footpaths.