The clean-up of the old Hunter Street Mall has begun ahead of the demolition of the site.
Buildings on the southern side of Hunter Street between Thorn Street and Newcomen Street will be cleared to make way for stages three and four of the East End development.
Kurri Kurri-based Drumderg Demolition were on site on January 8 cleaning up the area which previously housed the Hunter Street Mall food court and vintage shops Contact Trace and Runamok.
Once the site is cleaned up, the buildings will be stripped before they are finally demolished. Construction will then start on new apartment buildings with ground-floor retail.
It is unclear when demolition will begin, however it will likely be months away.
The area has been a target for vandalism since the mall shops closed in April 2023. Windows have been smashed, graffiti has been sprayed and rubbish strewn through the old buildings.
Approval of the demolition development application was fast-tracked after the shops closed, however the site has sat idle since.
Owner of nearby Ka-fey cafe Julian Ciabatti had one word when asked for his thoughts on works starting to clear the site.
"Finally," he said.
"It looks like we're in a war zone."
Mr Ciabatti said the mall had suffered since the shops closed and the destruction began. He said he did not think the vandalism would stop due to the work starting, but was looking forward to the completion of the redevelopment.
Gabrielle Mizrahi, whose son Jordan owns local eateries Ground Floor, The Basement and Neighbours, said it was "fantastic" to see work starting.
"It's going to be great," she said. "It has been a long time coming. There has been vandalism, broken windows - it has been really difficult.
"It will be a bit of a headache while we wait, but it will be very, very good for the city when it's done.
"The apartments will bring in so many people."
