THIRTY years after John and Debbie Anderson paid $240,000 for five units and two shops on Cotton Tree Esplanade, John is charged with selling the first stage of the complex set to replace it.

That work won't start in earnest until April when the first stage of the two-tower, 146-unit Cosmopolitan begins rising from the ground.

The Anderson's property, which was sold 12 years ago delivered to Cosmopolitan development partner Robert Milicevic a quarter of the land needed for the project.

"I had it in the good old days when you could still go to work barefoot,” John laughs.

"Work”, the second-hand sports good business Vitamin Sea, was down stairs from the unit in which the Anderson's raised their children.

"I could write a book about those days,” he said.

Those days were when Benny's Chickens was the only Cotton Tree business that opened at Christmas, when Norm Martin Real Estate had a donut shop and Lefties could seat 15 people tops.

Vitamin Sea caught the sailboard boom and eventually sold with John moving on to his Hi-Tech sportswear stores which caught the start of the triathlon craze which persists to today.

"It's ironic I get the chance to resell it,” John said.

"Robert doesn't need pre-sales to get going. The Development Application is fully approved and the construction start date in April 1.

"When the dirt turns sales will start.”

Mr Milicevic heads a Canberra-based scaffolding company Rovera and has been responsible for a number of major Cotton Tree developments over the past 20 years including Riveria, Dunes and Space.

Cosmopolitan is being built for developer Resemble Pty Ltd of which Mr Milicevic is a major share holder.