A fence has also been erected around the site.

Joss Group project manager Brett McClellan said the buildings that have been demolished are not of heritage significance.

He said the work done to date has been carried out to make the site safe.

Mr McClellan said some asbestos roof sheeting had to be disposed of in the proper manner, but the site is now free of the hazardous material.

He said the site has now been boarded up for safety reasons.

It was clear that people had been squatting in the derelict building and covering the inside with graffiti.

He said the next step was to consolidate design work for multi-use. 

The first stage of the development will be the construction of 40 apartments in varying sizes including one, two and three-bedroom units. 

He said later stages will include retail premises and a cafe.

Mr McClellan said Joss Group, which is both the developer and the builder, has brought in an architect that specialises in apartment buildings. 

He said even though a DA for the development has already been submitted to Bathurst Regional Council, it might become necessary to ‘tweak a few things to get it right’. 

The project manager said the design process could take anywhere between four and eight months.

“If when we look at the design there needs to be any changes to the external appearance of the building, the DA will come back before council,” he said.

Mr McClellan said the construction phase, from the start of the dig through to the certificate of occupation, will take around 12 or 13 months. 

He said if everything happens as expected, tenants could move in mid 2016. 

Mr McClellan said Joss Group is a regional construction company so they don’t build in the capital cities, only in regional areas.

Although their head office is in Albury, they have also had an office in Bathurst for a number of years. 

“We want to build on that,” he said.

When the DA came before council, director of environmental planning and building services director David Shaw said although there was some contention over the size of the development, the focus needs to be on restoring the key heritage buildings and revitalising a site that has been vacant for close to 15 years.