Filling Canberra's existing suburbs with more people and shops and services instead of sprawling into the surrounding bushland will take painstaking planning.
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ACT Government architect Alistair Swayn said the draft Hawker Village master plan, to be unveiled this morning, was thrashed out ''line by line'' and took nearly three times longer than expected to complete.
The ACT Government's development chief David Dawes said the process was the way all future suburban redevelopment would be approached, after the Government was lashed by the local community for putting up ''for sale'' signs in 2009 to signal a major project.
A backlash from irate traders and residents cooled only when a reference group - representing business, community and the Government - was appointed. It has met 21 times.
The outcome is contained in the draft master plan and includes a proposal to relocate the supermarket from its existing location and allowing six levels of apartments.
Mr Dawes said the draft plan aligned with the Government's strategy to have at least 50 per cent of new housing in existing suburbs with higher densities on major transport corridors and town and group centres.
A scale model on display in Hawker Square will show an expanded square, with the IGA supermarket relocated to a car park site, with basement parking and a travelator to the ground level.
Mr Dawes said consultation on the draft would be conducted over the Christmas holidays, but from today until the end of January was ample time for comments.
''We have learned some valuable lessons and I think we have a lot of goodwill from people and we want to keep that,'' Mr Dawes said.
Mr Swayn said the draft's best feature came from reworking the area's public open space, opening a hidden square and regenerating Hawker Place as an active and inviting street.
''They [the Land Development Agency] have been quite painstaking in the way they have addressed the issues raised and I think it has surprised everybody how long it has actually taken.
''It has probably taken twice or three times as long as everyone had imagined.
''Everything has been thoroughly road-tested on the way through, even down to the objectives of the master plan which were thrashed through, line by line, with the residents, then put out for public consultation.''
Newsagent and reference group member Garry Prince said he didn't agree with every detail on the draft but was happy traders were now part of an overall strategy, allowing them to expand and complement one another, rather than going separate ways.
''It is a beautiful model for planning, an opportunity to be part of everything. This is an extremely good outcome.''
Friends of Hawker Village were concerned about parking, but studies revealed an over-supply of spaces.
The problem is they're poorly distributed and in some cases on a slope, making it hard for elderly people pushing shopping trolleys.
