A vision of supportive and supported accommodation for vulnerable women attracted former refuge workers Carolyn Traill and Robin Bartrum to Ainslie Village in 1986.
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The self-described firm feminists likened today's community of about 172 people to a big family - albeit one that's a bit dysfunctional.
"As all families are, nothing new there," Ms Traill said.
The first the pair heard of the ACT government's plans to find alternative housing options for Ainslie Village residents was in The Canberra Times about a fortnight ago.
While no decision has been made on its future, those living in Ainslie Village were alarmed to read the community's buildings were outdated and so was its model of care.
Many do not buy this explanation and believe the ACT government wants the land - prime real estate with Campbell High on one side and a planned eight-storey apartment development on the other. This was disputed by ACT Housing director Louise Gilding earlier this month.
A meeting with contractors Argyle Housing and Ms Gilding at Ainslie Village on Tuesday attracted between 40 and 50 residents, some of whom were reportedly very upset.
"Some of the more vulnerable people are really scared and think they're just going to be kicked out on the street, and there are people here who could not survive alone in bedsits or whatever they've got in store for them because they need company and companionship," Ms Bartrum said.
"We think [this is] a really good model and it could be a lot better with more balance."
Ainslie Village has 23 properties in group living units and accepts tenants from homelessness services, the prison and Samaritan House.
Ninety-three per cent of residents are single men, and most have a dual diagnosis, such as mental illness and a drug or alcohol problem.
Natara Pullen moved into Ainslie Village about seven months ago after a year of homelessness. She said Ainslie Village, with its kangaroos, rabbits and sprawling garden, was "calming".
"You can take yourself away from the hustle and bustle but you're so damn close [to Civic]," she said.
"It's a hallway to getting what you need. I love it here."
More than three decades later and Ms Bartrum and Ms Traill love it too. There are challenges - "You've got people on all sorts of drugs, including ice, and they can go completely crazy on that" - but also successes, with some women they know going on to university degrees or buying their own homes.
But they fear the community has been set up to fail.
"It was a cutting edge idea, but it's been destroyed in a way," Ms Bartrum said.
"We'd like them to sit down and talk with us and other people who have been here a long time about what can be done to improve it - not knock it down but make it better."
A Housing ACT spokesman said: "The ACT government has allocated money in the budget to undertake a study of the needs of people living in supported accommodation, including Ainslie Village.
"Housing ACT is currently working out the scope of this study and how best to deliver it. This study will be undertaken by mid 2018.
"The ACT government is committed to working with the residents of Ainslie Village in the coming months to ensure we are delivering the best support and accommodation possible into the future."
The ACT government has signed a contract with Argyle Housing until June 2019 with the option to extend an additional two years.
