Inner city living has increased dramatically within the last three years, one Launceston-based building company says.
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During the last 18 months to three years, Steven Simeoni has seen inner city living take off in Launceston.
The owner of Tas City Building said the interest came after a bit of a push from the council and the Launceston Chamber of Commerce.
In that short time, the company has completed 33 apartments in 11 different locations. Some have a price tag of more than $1 million, and some are just 2.7 metres wide.
"It hasn't been all that long, roughly we did our first one about three-and-a-half years ago in Elizabeth Street and that was the first, then there was a bit of a gap and and now it's getting very popular," he said.
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"The potential is there, but is over shadowed a bit by the construction costs because there is a lot of fire compliance," Mr Simeoni said.
"That slows the process a little because it's a little more costly to build. You pay a bit extra to build, but the value will be there in the future.
Launceston is on the cusp of inner city living, he said.
"It's happened in Hobart and it's happened all over the rest of Australia too really," Mr Simeoni said.
"I think it's only going to become more popular, especially with the university's plans."
More inner city living could only be good for Launceston, he believes, because if there are more people in the city it looks more alive.
People will use more restaurants, which would encourage businesses to stay open longer, he said.
"The problem is the Tasmanian way. We just need a park wherever we live," he said.
"I think eventually we're going to have to get out of that mentality because eventually people are going to live and work in the city and be without a car."