A new builder of the Bowline apartments at Wickham says he hopes to start work this month after the project's original construction firm went into administration in March.
Newcastle firm Basebuild is poised to take over the construction contract at the 17-storey office and apartment complex after an administrator was appointed to Eastern Pacific three months ago.
The Sydney-based developer, Multipart Property, said on Monday that it remained "fully committed" to completing the project "with full financier's support".
"Currently, we are in the process of negotiating with the new builder and will inform the market once this is formally completed," the company said in response to questions from the Newcastle Herald.
A large crane was erected on the Hannell Street redevelopment site, next to Newcastle Interchange, earlier this year, but little to no work has progressed since at least April.
The Newcastle Herald reported in October that Multipart had pushed back the expiry date for buyers' sunset clauses for a third time to 2026 after switching financiers.
The company won planning approval and started selling the apartments in 2019.
Eastern Pacific started ground works in December 2021, but water started leaking into the basement excavations in early 2023, causing months of delays.
Multipart said in July last year that the leaks had been fixed.
The company pushed back the expected completion date for the project to the first quarter of 2025, but the building work has not progressed significantly since then.
Buyers received a progress update in April saying the crane had been erected and work on the site was "progressing well since our last update".
The update said "the builder for Bowline" was forecasting a completion date "from the third quarter of 2025".
Basebuild director James Shafren said he hoped to start work on the project this month.
Mr Shafren's firm completed the nearby Stella, WestEnd and Eaton apartments in Wickham for Third.i Group.
Buyers who spoke to the Herald expressed frustration with the Bowline delays and what they viewed as a lack of communication from the developer about the building's progress.
"Our only hope is that the apartment once built will be worth a lot more when it is finished than what we paid for it," one person who bought a Bowline unit as an investment said.
"If we were going to live in it, we would definitely be more frustrated."
Multipart still has an unresolved application before Newcastle council to alter aspects of the development.
The company submitted amended plans for the ground-floor landscaping, public access and wall art in November and lodged new architectural drawings on Friday.
