The developer must meet that deadline to comply with the terms of some workforce housing tax credits it has been awarded, according to Matt Brown, president of Formation Group Inc., a Des Moines firm hired by the council to serve as its project manager.

He said he hopes a development agreement can be reached with KDG LLC, of Columbia, Missouri, in June and work will begin soon after that.

But when Councilman Terry Moehnke asked if the company has all the money it needs to do the project, Brown replied “We do not know that yet.”

The project is expected to cost $30 million to $32 million.

“They need to find creditors or investors who will carry the full load because these are tax credits, not grants,” Brown said.

The renovation of the Warden Plaza at 908 First Ave. S. is one part of a project that includes construction of a new cultural and recreation center and a parking ramp. The renovated Warden Plaza, the cultural and recreation center and the parking ramp would line the north side of First Avenue South between Ninth and 12th streets.

A November 2019 completion date was initially projected for the project.

The city government used the state’s abandoned buildings law to acquire the Warden Plaza in July 2016. In December 2016, the building was transferred to KDG LLC.

That company plans to create 80 to 150 apartments on the upper floors, while establishing retail space on the lower floors.

Brown said Monday that a “fundraising document” has been drafted to help generate the money needed to build the cultural and recreation center. That facility is estimated to cost $37 million.

It will have swimming pools, a running track, exercise rooms and a black box theater that could be set up in different ways to accommodate different performances.

In November 2017, the City Council and the Webster County Board of Supervisors created the Webster County Wellness and Cultural Authority to finance the construction of the new facility. After the facility is built, the authority will lease it to a nonprofit organization that would operate it.

The proposed parking ramp would have space for 400 to 500 vehicles. Brown said it would cost $9 million to $10 million. He said a large federal grant is being sought to help pay for it.