A Dunedin city councillor said the saga was an example of the "disgraceful" lack of power held by local authorities.
A resource consent is expected to be lodged within the next few weeks for the buildings at 372-392 Princes St.
They have mainly lain vacant since a dangerous building notice was placed in September 2008.
A consent was granted in September 2010 allowing the buildings to be demolished, provided the facades — built in the 1800s — were retained.
Cr David Benson-Pope said the issue was about preserving Dunedin’s heritage streetscapes.
"I think it’s disgraceful."
The former Century Theatre at the corner of Jetty and Princes Sts was an example of a loss the city had not recovered from, he said.
The facade was destabilised during demolition and the council agreed to remove it because of the risk to pedestrians.
Twenty-eight years on, the site was still a car park.
The council had recently submitted to the Government, arguing local authorities should have more power to undertake whatever work was needed on a property, then charge the owners.
"That would be a powerful incentive for people to behave a bit more responsibly," he said.
Lawrence and Tapanui had bylaws ensuring people protected heritage buildings and there was no reason why Dunedin could not implement similar measures, Cr Benson-Pope said.
Emails obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act show the current owner, Totara-Dunedin Properties Ltd — directed by Geoffrey Yee and David Kang Tun Yee — has commissioned a report by Beca engineering consultants.
The report, received by the council in early June, recommended the buildings be considered dangerous as they were in a state of partial collapse.
The buildings had deteriorated to the point they posed a risk to the public in Princes St and saving the facades was unlikely to be achieved, it said.
Further collapses were also likely and it would be difficult to prop up the facades to preserve them during works because of the dangerous state of the buildings, the report said.
On behalf of the owner, Beca requested an urgent demolition order and for conditions to protect the facades to be waived for the sake of public safety.
The roof of one of the buildings with the most heritage value collapsed on July 22 last year, following heavy rain.
Structural engineer Stephen Macknight, who was engaged by the council to peer review the Beca report, told the Otago Daily Times he did not fundamentally disagree with it.
In his observation the buildings were in various states of disrepair.
Some of the facades would be easier to preserve than others and he hoped the developers were working towards that end.
"It’s not an impossible task," Mr Macknight said.
A city council spokesman said the council expected to receive a resource consent application from the owner’s representatives in the next week or so.
The directors of Totara-Dunedin Properties Ltd were approached for comment but did not respond by deadline.
