But the future of the building was unclear yesterday, as Mr Barnett said he did not want to comment until he had settled the issue of costs with the council.
While "something needs to be said", that had to be dealt with first, he said.
In 2008, Mr Barnett, of Arthur Barnett Properties, was given consent to build the project, but was unable to begin work on the site because the council identified the land as suitable for a road linking Wharf St with a planned on-ramp to the nearby overbridge, and issued a notice of requirement.
The matter was heard jointly with the Dunedin harbourside plan change in 2008, and hearings committee chairman Roger Tasker said a "substantial adjournment" since was due to a request for further information, and to allow discussions between the council and the developer.
Those discussions had failed, and the hearing was reconvened in May.
The hearings committee decided the notice should be withdrawn, in part because the council's justification for the requirement "changed as the designation area has changed to the point that the modified designation now only has a tenuous connection with the notified objective".
Mr Barnett said he planned to meet council staff to discuss the issue.
