BRADDON'S famous hole in the ground at 10/12 Lonsdale Street is an unsung victim of the collapse of Ply ACT earlier this year.
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Arte Apartments, a $30 million, six-storey block that will combine two floors of commercial and retail space with four floors containing 57 apartments, was hit with further delays as a direct result of the high-profile builder's collapse.
While not as large as the other casualties, the $550 million Nishi complex in Acton or the 151-apartment Astin complex on Northbourne Avenue, Arte is more controversial than either.
Conceived more than a decade ago, construction has stalled for at least five years because of contamination issues, bureaucratic red tape and the failure of at least two building companies commissioned to undertake the work.
The site is owned by John Russell, one of Canberra's most respected developers and the man behind the redevelopment of The Rex on Northbourne and the nearby Astin Complex.
Mr Russell's connection with the project is through Max Profit, a company of which he is the sole shareholder, director and secretary.
He has been praised by Lonsdale Street business people and project investors for sticking to his guns and not walking away from what has proved to be a very problematic undertaking.
''A lot of people would have just given up and washed their hands of it,'' Pasquale Trimboli said.
Mr Trimboli is a property investor and a part owner of Italian and Sons, one of Braddon's best known eateries which is just across the road from the dirt pit that is the Arte site. He and other family members signed up for the ground floor of Arte, a space of more than a 1000 square metres and sufficient for five to six good-sized businesses, about a decade ago.
When it became apparent work on Arte was going to be substantially delayed, the decision was made to lease space nearby. Italian and Sons opened at 6 Lonsdale Street about five years ago and will stay at that location even after the new building is finished.
Mr Russell did not return calls from The Canberra Times, but Paul Corazza, of the Independent Property Group which is handling the project, did.
He confirmed two builders, the latest being Ply, had gone bust at 10-12 Lonsdale and said that an agreement had recently been signed with a third contractor to complete the project.
The new builder had previously subcontracted to Ply on both the Astin and the Arte projects and was signed up to complete Astin within weeks of Ply's collapse in March.
Astin had been much closer to completion than Arte, which has yet to move much beyond the excavation stage. The two-storey deep pit will be used for the footings and underground car parking. While there was no activity at the site earlier this week a large excavator is parked in the hole and neighbours said workmen had been present in the last month.
Mr Corazza said it was expected Arte would be finished during the third quarter of next year. It is understood most, if not all, of the Arte apartments have been sold off the plan and that the developers have been liaising closely with investors to keep them fully informed.
