THE old run-down building on the corner of Knuckey and Smith streets could soon be ­reinvigorated if its planning application is approved.

The owner, Gwelo Developments, has made an application to the Development Consent Authority to breathe new life into the eyesore, commonly known as the Woolies building, to refurbish and open shops and restaurants over a seven-year lease.

It’s a Band-Aid project while the developers design something more substantial, the application states.

The building traded as a Woolworths from 1969 until it was sold in 2006.

Gwelo Developments paid $21 million to property developer Kerry Manolis.

Over the past nine years, the building has sat in the middle of Darwin’s CBD with its windows boarded up, attracting graffiti and providing ­shelter to the homeless.

media_camera Artists impression of the Austin Lane and Knuckey St corner. Picture: Supplied

The application seeks to install new glass shopfronts, add a fresh coat of paint, and spruce up the awnings to ­attract shops and restaurants.

The application states that the refurbished building will restore “active streetscape” and provide a “safe, vibrant amenity to a building which has been vacant and disused for many years”.

The Austin Lane entrance is proposed to invigorate the side street, while maintaining its famous graffiti wall.

The application does not propose to provide any car parking, despite regulations ­requiring 91 parking spaces to be installed.

“Should the proposal be ­rejected on this basis, the refurbishment of the iconic ‘Woolies Site’ will not proceed and stay vacant indefinitely,” the application warns.

Darwin Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim said she was looking forward to seeing the building being used.

“Anything that activates that space and provides usefulness to the space is a good thing,” she said.

The public are invited to make submissions up until February 20.