Nowhere else in Canberra is quite like The Causeway — a public housing precinct that lies a stone's throw from some of the city's most expensive apartments.

Key points: The Causeway is one of Canberra's oldest housing estates

The Causeway is one of Canberra's oldest housing estates The ACT Government says redevelopment is inevitable but isn't being rushed

The ACT Government says redevelopment is inevitable but isn't being rushed Residents, like Donna Fitzgerald-Verrent, don't want to move

When you stand on its grid streets, surrounded by unassuming 1970s brick homes, it looks more like a down-at-heel country town than the national capital.

Despite its central location, many Canberrans have never heard of The Causeway. For others, however, it has long been a "no-go zone".

Wedged between the Kingston Foreshore and the Canberra Railway Station, some say it's definitely on the wrong side of the tracks.

But the 48 public housing families who call this settlement home hold a very different view.

Donna Fitzgerald-Verrent says most Canberrans have the "wrong idea" about The Causeway. ( ABC News )

Donna Fitzgerald-Verrent has lived at The Causeway for 65 years and says it's an embracing community unlike any other.

Ms Fitzgerald-Verrent's family links to the settlement go right back to the 1920s, when its cottages were built to attract working men and their families to a then infant capital.

"It was absolutely amazing living here, and it's still amazing living here," Ms Fitzgerald-Verrent said.

"You knew everybody, and you helped everybody."

The Causeway community hall is one of Canberra's oldest public building and is heritage listed. ( ABC News: Craig Allen )

The Causeway's centrepiece is its community hall — which predates Old Parliament House — and has hosted everything from boxing bouts to ballroom dances.

Legend has it that men used to hide their beer bottles in the hall's toilet cisterns during Canberra's days of prohibition.

That heyday is now well past. Today, The Causeway sits well in the shadows.

But Ms Donna Fitzgerald-Verrent says her community gets a bad rap.

"Outsiders — they don't like The Causeway, they have a bad impression of it.

"But nah, it's such a special area, people have the wrong idea about it.

"It's a really good area, it's very quiet, you never hear anything, nobody's houses get broken into, it's just amazing."

The bulldozers will come — eventually

The bulldozers have been circling for more than a decade, as successive governments have eyed off the prime real estate.

Developers have long held plans to extend the neighbouring Kingston Foreshore — with its waterfront apartments and restaurants — eastwards towards the Jerrabomberra Wetlands.

Historian Jill Waterhouse says The Causeway's future is in doubt. ( ABC News: Craig Allen )

But historian Jill Waterhouse says The Causeway doesn't just hold historical significance, it challenges government notions of public housing.

"Public housing on such a beautiful spot is something to be encouraged — we should in Canberra be models of public housing," Dr Waterhouse said.

"But I think its future is in doubt.

"This is a prime position. I can understand that a very low rent does not equate to the $3 million one pays for a penthouse [at the Kingston Foreshore].

"So there is that lure to build more."

Minister for Urban Renewal Rachel Stephen-Smith says the area — known as East Lake — will inevitably be redeveloped, eventually.

"While we are continuing to investigate urban renewal over the next five to 10 years in this part of Canberra, we're not going to rush into it," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

And any redevelopment does hold complications: the neighbouring Jerrabomberra Wetlands have a high environmental value; some of the ground is contaminated from old industrial development; and The Causeway's heritage buildings must stay in place.

Residents want clarity on timeline

For decades, the settlement's public housing tenants have felt powerless to fight any government plans to move them on.

They say they have also long suspected their properties are being run down deliberately.

"People are coming to do maintenance on the houses, even just basic stuff, and they say 'oh, we're not going to put too much effort into this because they're getting rid of you all anyway'," Ms Fitzgerald-Verrent said.

"The government is just a pain in the neck. They don't give definite answers."

Do you have a story to share about your neighbourhood? Let us know at yourstoriescanberra@abc.net.au

Ms Stephen-Smith says there is demand for medium-rise apartments in the area but not high-rises.

Ms Stephen-Smith says The Causeway will eventually be redeveloped but its residents will be invited to stay in the area. ( ABC News: Craig Allen )

She has also given the area's public housing residents a commitment that they will not be pushed out.

"They will be able to stay here during the redevelopment, in redeveloped houses if that's their preference," she said.

"We know that people have such a strong connection to this area.

"We're really committed to respecting that connection, but also listening to them and their stories about the history of The Causeway, because that's what we want to build in to any redevelopment."