JWLand bought the 15,607-square-metre block between Northbourne Avenue and Henty Street from the Suburban Land Agency in 2020 for $28 million.

Formerly the home of the Northbourne Flats, the land was part of a suite of former public housing sites along Northbourne Avenue sold off to fund more modern public housing stock.

The sales saw 1288 ageing inner-city dwellings along Northbourne Avenue replaced, with tenants relocated throughout Canberra.

The development application, lodged on July 25, details plans for a mixed commercial and residential development, expected to cost $158.2 million.

The six buildings will range from six to nine stories, with a shared two-level basement carpark, offering 908 spaces.

The block will hold 602 residential units, with 1- 2- and 3-bed options, 90 of which are required to be affordable.

Two hotels will offer 239 rooms, with two restaurants on the ground floor which the public will be able to access.

Commercial tenants could include businesses such as a small grocer, florist, hairdresser, cafe and/or offices.

JWLand national head of development Michael Prendergast said though the land sale took place two years ago, the developer had intentionally waited to lodge its application.

"It's quite large, it's quite complex, and it's a parcel of land where a precinct will be delivered through quite a number of buildings, so it's taken a little bit longer," he said.

"But our intention is, once the site is approved, we'll be going through the sales and the construction process as quickly as possible."

The full precinct could be delivered in stages, with two to four buildings completed first.

A shortage of construction workers and pressure on supply chains is not expected to delay the project, Mr Prendergast said.

One of the main issues raised in community consultation was how the development could contribute to the safety of Haig Park, which has long been an area of concern for the community.

In 2018, a freedom of information request revealed that an ACT Policing risk assessment had identified multiple reports of crimes in and around the park over the preceding six years.

Officers also found the park to be poorly lit, with lights either poorly maintained or obscured by trees and litter, dumping and drinking in the park was rarely dealt with.

The City Renewal Authority has since released plans for a $1.7 million community centre in the park as part of efforts to revive it.

"They wanted to see how we would continue to activate and strengthen Hyde Park through the design response for the precinct," Mr Prendergast said.

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The idea is for the commercial opportunities offered by the Braddon Place precinct to help stimulate Haig Park as a place people can gather to enjoy the landscape.

"I look at it all the time in the Campbell 5 precinct, the reason why those commercial tenancies down there work so well is there's a park across the road," he said, referring to another of JWLand's developments.

"People can buy their sandwiches, their coffee, and they just catch up with their friends and hang out in the park - that's not what's happening in Haig Park at the moment."

Other topics raised in consultation included the height of the buildings, traffic pressures and the protection of trees in the area.

The ACT government is currently considering whether to redevelop some of Canberra's last remaining inner-city public housing flats, with investigations into five sites along the Ainslie Corridor.

Early feasibility studies are underway on Ainslie Flats, Braddon Court, Jerilderie Court, Reid Court and Kanangra Court, but no decisions have been made about the redevelopment of any of these sites.

The ACT government's "salt and pepper" approach to public housing has seen tenants move out of inner-city areas, in an effort to spread them evenly throughout Canberra.

This approach has attracted criticism from the ACT Council of Social Service for disconnecting tenants from vital services and communities.

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