The latest version of the development has one building instead of two, is further from the boundary on all sides, and has more rooms for residents - 122 compared with the original 100.
But while the bulk of the building and effects such as shading on neighbours has been reduced, it appears unlikely it will satisfy a group of residents who vigourously opposed it three years ago.
The company originally planned to construct a three-storey building containing 30 retirement apartments and another with a 45-bed rest-home and a 25-bed dementia care unit.
Residents held a public meeting and hired lawyers and consultants to prevent the rest-home gaining resource consent.
Despite the proposal being scaled back, Ryman could not gain consent at hearings in 2006, and was unsuccessful in an Environment Court appeal in 2007, when Judge John Bollard said the court accepted the Dunedin City Council's opinion the building was not in accord with the houses and open space which would surround it.
The latest proposal is for a single three-storey building with 30 ensuite rooms in a dementia care facility on the ground floor, a rest-home on level one with 60 ensuite rooms, and 32 "assisted living" suites on level two.
A "village centre" lounge and dining area would be situated on the ground floor, and there would be 46 car parks, with separate vehicle entry and exit points on Highgate.
Ryman's application said the building height had been reduced in the new design, and it had been set back further from both Highgate and Tyne St, and from side boundaries, meaning shading on neighbouring properties had been "significantly reduced".
The application, from environmental consultants Mitchell Partnerships, said: "The building has been designed to be much less dominant on the site, resulting in less visual `bulk' when viewed from Tyne St and Highgate."
That had been achieved by using a single building, with its height reduced by more extensive excavation.
The proposal will be publicly notified as a "discretionary activity" by the Dunedin City Council on Saturday, and senior planner John Sule said submissions, of which the council was expecting to receive plenty, would close on August 14.
Ryman Healthcare development manager Andrew Mitchell said yesterday the number of residents' rooms had increased because the last design had apartments, which took up more space, while the latest did not.
There would be less traffic movement, another major concern of residents, because without the apartment living option, the age of residents would be older, and they were less likely to drive.
Mr Mitchell said he had consulted with neighbours before the project had been redesigned, and while none had committed to any agreements, he was happy with the results.
The company had received 30 or 40 letters from local people who were keen to move to the development in their old age, so they could stay in the area.
But opponent Peter Alloo said he was "not very keen about the thing at all".
The building would still be a hospital, he said, which opponents claimed meant it was non-complying under the district plan.
Mr Alloo said he expected to be involved in opposition to the project again.
