Major Auckland construction company Ebert is in receivership and workers have been locked out of sites.
Negotiations are under way for a new contractor at the Union Green development on the CBD fringe after main contractor Ebert was placed in receivership.
Since the start of last month, the 153-unit apartment project at the Union St/Cook St corner has lain idle after the receivership of its main contractor, dashing buyers' hopes as they saw no action on the property.
But negotiations are under way for a new contractor to finish the job.
The dream: how Union Green is supposed to look when finished.
Farhad Moinfar, whose Myland Partners is developing the site at 39 Union St site near Spaghetti Junction, said he hoped work would resume there soon.
"Dominion Constructors have been engaged by us as preferred contractors, subject to contractual terms being agreed to complete the project," Moinfar said yesterday.
"All going to plan, construction could resume in October."
In early August, builder Ebert went into receivership, shutting a number of large jobs including Union Green where workers were later able to retrieve equipment and tools.
Precisely when the apartments will be finished remains uncertain.
Moinfar said discussions on the completion programme formed part of the contract negotiations now ongoing with Dominion.
"We will advise buyers on revised completion date once this process has concluded. There's still a lot of work before we can absolutely confirm a re-start on the site but it's certainly looking positive," he said.
Prices could not be increased due to pre-sale agreements, he said.
The reality: no work for weeks at Union Green. Photo/Jason Oxenham
Marketing claims on social media pointed to strong pre-sales three years ago and a series of profiles with photos featured buyers' Christian names but no surnames.
In 2015, Union Green posted on its Facebook page: "We've only been on the market for 12 weeks, but with more than 90% of units sold to date, the team behind Union Green are celebrating the success of their sophisticated, urban development and the community that will soon call Union Green home."
Buyers were "predominately ... owner-occupiers - from first home buyers, down-sizers, and everything in between".
Early last month, Moinfar said the project was approximately half-finished, with work up to level six on the 12-level tower. Equipment was being removed from the site by contractors after the receivership was announced - a bad omen for apartment buyers, hoping the project would re-start and be finished so they can settle their purchases.
Moinfar said last month there had been no problems with the contract. Deposits had been paid on about 95 per cent of apartments which sold "from the high $400,000s through to the low millions."
A PwC spokeswoman said today no new update on Ebert's receivership could be provided. But the statutory report would be out in about a fortnight, providing extensive information on Ebert's situation.
