A heritage mural will be restored as part of the Nightingale project on Davey Street, as construction gets under way.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 30 metre crane will remain in the neighbourhood for a little while longer - the high-rise housing tower is due to be completed by about November next year.
According to Nightingale's Jessica Wood, the basement has been fully excavated and the slab has been poured, while retention walls have also been finished.
Builders are now working on the ground floor slab, which is expected to be poured in the new year.
Ms Wood said the project is "ticking along".
"Because it's a regional project, it hasn't been affected by COVID restrictions as much as city projects - it's almost leapfrogging some of the city (Nightingale) projects in terms of the timeline," she said.
"We've had a bit of interest in the commercial spaces as well, in the cafe and office spaces, it's not necessarily fixed but there has been interest.
"There's also been some water mains updates on Davey Street as well, because that area's zoned for a bit of growth, so it's an anticipatory upgrade."
Nightingale apartment blocks use a unique model for homeowners, encouraging community engagement and sold to residents at-cost.
Ms Wood said there are still two apartments for sale out of the 27 planned, with buyers so far "a mix of Ballarat residents and people from abroad as well".
The mural on the neighbouring building will also be restored as part of the project, which was originally an ad for McK's Jelly Crystals.
IN THE NEWS
"Jen Kulas, who is leading the project on Nightingale's behalf, has done extensive research on what the original graphic was, so we're going to have that mural restored," Ms Wood said.
"It was two murals laid over the top of each other, so two images swimming over the top of each other - Jen managed to track down the original family who owned the site.
"We found the original graphic, and when there's a good time during construction, that will be repainted by hand in the original spot."
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
