The neon-lit H.Troon crane has come down from the Davey Street Nightingale construction site, signalling the end of external works on the five-storey apartment block.
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The Nightingale site is one of the first major in-fill projects in Ballarat's CBD, with 27 apartments all sold, and a ground-floor cafe.
Construction began in earnest in mid-2020, and the building is on track to welcome its first residents before the end of this year.
Flooring, tiling, cabinetry, and landscaping will begin soon.
H.Troon's James Troon, who has been in charge of construction, said the crane's removal is a "significant milestone".
"Now we're concentrating on wrapping up the external cladding, then the internal fit outs and the completion of some external areas, there's the communal courtyard areas and a rooftop garden," he said.
"It's been an interesting project to work on, the site constraints are a bit tough due to the height and limited access, so a tower crane was utilised, and you don't see that every day in Ballarat.
"The team's worked hard through some trying conditions, hopefully they can enjoy some internal work through the rest of winter."
Nightingale's project manager Jen Kulas said it was a "dream project" - Nightingale has several apartment blocks in central Melbourne suburbs and plans for one in Adelaide.
"It has been an interesting ride, but to be honest, of all the projects I'm working on now, it's been an absolute dream," she said.
"I think the community's excited to move in, and given the macro-context of a global pandemic and the huge changes in regional centres, it's been incredibly smooth sailing.
"Existing residents have been incredibly understanding, I think they're pretty excited for us to get out of their hair and the crane disappearing is the first stage of that."
Smaller cranes will return to Davey Street later in the year for finishing touches like planter beds, and a mural will be painted on the northern side - a replica of a billboard that was once on a nearby wall.
Mr Troon said he was interested to see what happens next with in-fill development in Ballarat, given current trends.
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"It'll be a great product for the town - there hasn't been one built in town for quite some years, so it's exciting to see," he said.
"It shows apartment living and multi-dwelling living is definitely an option going forward."
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