Plans lodged to demolish and rebuild $2.6m Braddon public housing complex

Housing ACT has lodged plans to demolish and rebuild the 10-unit complex on 11 Lowanna Street after the initial structure, built in 2012, was plagued with issues.

Tenants were vacated in 2016 as it was deemed unsafe due to fire safety and construction concerns.

If the development application was approved, the ACT government said the new complex could be finished in 2023.

Housing ACT plans to rebuild a very similar structure with eight two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom units.

A Community Services Directorate spokesman said if the application was successful demolition would begin by the end of this year. He expected construction would commence early 2022 for completion in 2023.

He wouldn't reveal the expected cost of the project which he said was "commercial in confidence" because of the ongoing tender process.

The initial development, built nine years ago, cost $2.6 million.

The new application includes a lease variation for supportive housing.

The spokesman said options to increase the number of units were looked at, but the current plans for a two-storey, 10-unit complex remained the maximum on the 1043-square-metre block.

"The Territory Plan, relevant development codes, site constraints and setbacks influenced the final design that has been submitted for development approval," he said.

The units will be Adaptable Class C-standard, which the directorate said would "allow the units to be easily adapted to meet changing household needs without requiring costly or substantial modifications".

The directorate spokesman said a fire engineer and certifier would be brought on for the build "to ensure compliance with the National Construction Code and review conformance during the construction phase".

The building has sat empty for five years after tenants were forced to leave over safety concerns.

A legal battle ensued after the ACT government and builder, Bellerive Homes, disputed the building's fire rating.

The former managing director of Bellerive Homes Adre de Waal previously said the building was built to a Type B fire rating.

However, an expert report from 2017 found the building met Type A criteria as the garage was counted as a floor in the final build.

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Another report found several defects even based on a Type B rating.

That December 2017 report cited issues with steel beams, brickwork and trusses which weren't correctly fire-treated.

The ACT government went through a dispute resolution process with the builder, building engineer and asset certifiers.

However, the taxpayer has been left to foot the bill for the rebuild after the builder went bust before the process was finished.

An ACT government spokeswoman earlier said the asset certifiers were required to pay $525,000 and the building engineer had to pay $45,000 to the ACT government.

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