Skyline plans to construct a two-storey building on the corner of Rees and Beach Sts to replace the commercial block, which was gutted by fire early on November 14 last year.
The adjoining Wakatipu Arcade, which escaped the fire, is also to be demolished, leaving the six tenants with no guarantee they will have an outlet to return to in the new block.
They were given one year's notice to vacate the premises and were aware there was a demolition clause in the lease agreements.
Skyline sought expressions of interest from potential lessees but managing director Ken Matthews would not say yesterday how many submissions it had received.
Robin Lynes, managing director of the Opal Centre, said it had operated from the corner site for almost 30 years until the blaze.
Mr Lynes said his company fully intended to move back and had lodged a tender.
Habebes Takeaways has sold Lebanese and vegetarian cuisine in the arcade for nearly 21 years.
Owner Anne Halson said she and other tenants had operated under a demolition clause in the lease for about eight years and thought the arcade had been "let go" in terms of maintenance for that reason.
"Hopefully, we will find somewhere else.
"I haven't at the moment.
"We are negotiating with a landlord in town and we want to stay in the centre.
"It's been put to us [arcade tenants] that you put your quote in and the highest tenders get the outlets. [Skyline] said they would consider us and they've been very fair."
General manager Tony Hope said Stretton Clothing Company Ltd was looking at two nearby locations for the Annah Stretton outlet in the arcade to move to.
However, Stretton had not lodged a tender for 24 Rees St.
"As tenants who have been there for eight or nine years, we found the process frustrating.
I would have liked to have been offered one of the sites in the new development with a definitive market value per square metre, something concrete so we can make a decision if we can afford it.
"But this open-ended auction doesn't appeal to us at all.
They are obviously trying to get the best tenders and I would, too."
Mr Matthews said the number of new tenants or unit space would not be finalised until after talks with potential lessees.
"We've consulted with [the existing arcade tenants] firstly and we did say if there was a national firm that was interested in selling a product like theirs, we would come back and consult with them further."
The company was working through submissions to determine the best mix for the site.
After evaluation, building consent would be sought, contractors selected and it was hoped construction would start before Christmas.
