One of the dangers to the future development of the 1.2ha is it stagnating, particularly while the council negotiates with possible commercial tenants and goes through a subdivision consent process.
Mr Cox is also chairman of the Tekapo Property group, which met last week to consider issues, including feedback from two consultation meetings in January attended by about 120 people.
Feedback had also continued to flow in from individuals after that.
He said the public was excluded from most of the meeting because of commercial sensitivity, including expressions of interest and continuing negotiations with possible tenants.
''However, good progress is being made [with the commercial negotiations] and we have had a lot of local and outside interest since publicity on the development has increased,'' he said.
As a result of feedback, particularly on parking, landscaping, traffic, linking the development to the town and sight views of the lake and scenery, changes were being made to the initial concept plan.
That work would continue while the subdivision consent progressed.
Mr Cox said, with winter approaching, it would be impossible to do physical work, but he hoped a start could be made on landscaping, roads and infrastructure in spring, if the resource consent progressed smoothly.
One parcel of stage one had already been sold to Foodstuffs and Mr Cox hoped building on that could start next year, and physical work on stage two in 2016.
The three-stage project is being supported by the council, with the potential of up to $1 million of net revenue in the first year to 18 months from the first stage.
About a year ago, the council put aside $160,000 (plus contingencies) to prepare a subdivision consent for a self-funding project that would sell the debt-free land it owned between the retail centre and the lake edge.
