More than a year after major work stopped on the former Bowling Green Junior High School at 1141 Center St. – and after five assurances in 10 months that work should restart soon – the half-finished apartment buildings sit silent except for a skeleton crew employed directly by Ironwood Development of Roswell, Ga.

Ironwood co-owner Robert McMaster said in early December that a new investment group from Missouri was almost lined up, and that work on the four-building, 110-unit complex should restart by the end of January.

That didn’t happen, but once again McMaster says it should be just a little longer, with new work crews on site shortly after the new investment deal passes legal scrutiny.

&#8220I don’t know when that’ll happen, but I sure hope it happens by the end of March,” he said. &#8220We’re thrilled. We’re over our last hurdle, I think.

&#8220About two weeks ago we got our reallocation of tax credits from the state of Kentucky.”

The holdup came when McMaster sought renewal of those tax credits: The state asked for a new market study on the project’s viability, which took a month to put together, he said. Once that was finished, the state rushed its review through in 60 days.

&#8220That was really sort of the last step we needed,” McMaster said.

He said that previous plans to restart major work have always been predicated on one or two big events, such as lining up new investors, but that all obstructions now seem cleared away.

McMaster formed The Renaissance Apartments on Kentucky limited partnership to renovate the junior high as apartments. He bought the buildings from the Bowling Green Board of Education for $800,000 in 2002, and a $711,000 tax credit through Kentucky Housing Corp. was announced late that year.

Ironwood planned to start construction in early 2003 and rent the first units in January 2004. But work didn’t start until March 2004, and was supposed to be done by May 2005. Instead, work stopped in December 2005, with one building finished and rented and the others in various stages of completion. McMaster said in December that the complex could be done in six months for another $2 million.

Charla Peter, director of communications for Kentucky Housing, said the state housing finance agency is working with the Renaissance development team and has been assured that the project will be finished.

&#8220Kentucky Housing Corp. has been working with the developer to complete this project since this project originated,” she said. &#8220We at Kentucky Housing Corp. feel that this is going to be a good project for the area.”

Peter confirmed that the tax credits are still active and that McMaster does have a new investment group lined up.

Ironwood came to Bowling Green to build Park Row Senior Apartments on Fountain Square, and bundled financing for that project with the junior high. At the time, the renovation project was projected to cost $9.4 million.

McMaster said cost overruns at Park Row and the junior high caused investors to pull out, and he’s tried since then to line up more backers. He said Ironwood has spent about $60,000 of its own – his own – money per month since construction stopped to keep the project out of bankruptcy, paying interest on construction loans, required insurance and a half-dozen Ironwood managers and workers on site.

Mayor Elaine Walker said Bowling Green city officials have heard nothing further from McMaster. Chief Building Inspector Glen Burns has said that so long as some work is going on at the site, however minimal, its building permit will remain active.

Burns said he spoke in mid-February with a member of McMaster’s remaining construction crew.

&#8220He said they are still doing work,” Burns said.

Burns and an inspector from Kentucky Housing recently inspected the site and found low-level work ongoing, he said.

Ironwood owes a long list of local contractors for work already done on the school building, McMaster said last year. He said when new financing is arranged, paying them will be a top priority, and that he wants to rehire as many of them as possible to finish the job.

Promises and postponements

2002: Robert McMaster’s Renaissance Apartments on Kentucky purchases old Bowling Green Junior High School for $800,000, gets $711,000 tax credit through Kentucky Housing later that year.

Early 2003: Construction set to begin, with rental beginning in January 2004.

March 2004: After months of delays, work begins, and is set to be complete by May 2005.

December 2005: Work stops, with only one building finished and rented.

December 2006: McMaster says complex could be done in six months for another $2 million; work still at relative standstill.