Final costings are being worked through for a proposed twin, three-storey development within the St Clair Esplanade area.
The development is estimated to cost between $3.5 million and $4.2 million.
Construction on the sites on Forbury Rd and Bedford St, which overlap at the back of the sections, could begin by the end of March, developer and restaurateur Murray Macarthy said when contacted yesterday.
''We've got two designated builders. They're playing around with architectural ideas to make it fit,'' Mr Macarthy said.
He can build within the existing zoning regulations to about 11m in height, but is yet to apply for building permits from the council.
''The [cost] estimates only just came in yesterday ... we'd like to start sometime in the first quarter,'' Mr Macarthy said.
The plans had changed in that the Bedford St site would be all offices and commercial space over three levels, with no apartments now, while Forbury Rd could be one street-level restaurant, with four apartments above it, two each on levels two and three.
Mr Macarthy has owned the Forbury St site for about 15 years, demolished a dairy which was on the section, and will demolish a house on the Bedford St site.
Mr Macarthy, who runs a chain of 11 Thai restaurants, in 2011 purchased Neptuno restaurant on the Esplanade, adjacent motels and the Bedford St site, then all in receivership, for more than $2.3 million.
