PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — The developer of the Pawtucket soccer stadium said Wednesday it’ll likely be another year before there’s any sign of housing construction alongside the Seekonk River, offering a new timeline for a long-promised phase of the project that’s slipped considerably.

Fortuitous Partners managing partner Dan Kroeber provided the update to the Pawtucket City Council, where elected officials asked a series of questions about the ongoing development slated to be anchored by a minor-league soccer stadium.

Kroeber told the council Fortuitous currently has 23 trailer-loads of fabricated steel ready to resume stadium construction, which had been put on hold over the summer as the developer scrambled to raise more money after initially dumping in nearly $30 million to kick-start the project.

Kroeber acknowledged the fundraising effort has delayed plans to move forward with the second part of the project, which is focused on waterfront infrastructure improvements and much-needed housing.

“It’s going to take some time,” Kroeber said, estimating the company has “another year” of design, permitting and fundraising before anything will be ready for construction.

“I don’t want to sugarcoat it,” he added.

Fortuitous last month announced it had finally lined up private funds for the stadium, raising $50 million “for the team and the stadium.” The announcement represented a crucial step forward for the project, as it is a prerequisite for Pawtucket and the state to issue public money for its share of the construction costs.

Kroeber said the public-private deal is slated to close sometime around October, but that the company wouldn’t be waiting for signed paperwork to move forward with the steel construction. After the deal closes, Kroeber said, he’d be turning his full attention to the housing component of the project.

“We are moving,” he said, adding the company has already done some environmental remediation work and applied for a brownfield grant from the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. (A DEM spokesperson confirmed the agency had received an application, which is under review as part of this year’s grant cycle, but declined to share specifics.)

“There are a lot of wheels in motion,” Kroeber said.

But the new timeline disclosed by Fortuitous on Wednesday represents a significant delay since the last time officials talked publicly about when housing construction would begin.

In July 2022, Fortuitous partner Brett Johnson and his team told reporters they estimated they were nine months away from completing new design and cost estimates, establishing a deadline that passed in April.

And just like the stadium project, the biggest hurdle the developer will need to clear is financing the housing project. Fortuitous officials haven’t shared their financing plans publicly, but records Target 12 obtained through a public records request show in February the company unsuccessfully applied for millions of dollars in incentives from R.I. Housing.

The application included a proposed financing table showing the company estimated the housing portion of the Tidewater project would cost $266.9 million, and they were seeking $30 million in current and future subsidies from the quasi-public agency. The table also referenced a $93.4 million construction loan and $143.4 million of equity, neither of which had been secured at the time.

Target 12 has confirmed the plan wasn’t approved.

“We’re working on creative funding pathways,” Kroeber said Wednesday at the Pawtucket City Council meeting. “We’re pursuing a lot of different angles, including our balance sheet that we’re prepared to put into that project.”

In addition to questions tied to current and future construction of project, city councilors also raised concerns over a recent GoLocalProv report that showed Johnson had recently used his interest in the Tidewater development as collateral to secure a private loan.

The loan to Johnston from California-based Pasadena Private Finance LLC was outlined in a Uniform Commercial Code filing, which allows “creditors to notify other creditors about a debtor’s assets used as a collateral for a secured transaction,” according to the National Association of Secretaries of State.

Asked about the document, Kroeber confirmed Johnson had taken out a personal loan but downplayed the significance of Tidewater being listed as collateral.

Kroeber said it wasn’t unusual for a lender to list all of a borrower’s assets in a UCC filing, calling it a “blanket assignment.” However, he also said Johnson had successfully asked the lender to rescind the document.

“Upon Brett asking the lender to remove this UCC filing, they immediately removed this filing,” he added. “There’s no filing on anything Tidewater-related at this time.”

Pressed on whether Tidewater was being used as collateral in “any way shape or form,” Kroeber responded, “No, no, there’s not.”

“It’s been removed,” he added. “There’s no UCC filing at all, anything to do with the Pawtucket project, the team, the stadium, the real estate — there is no UCC filing.”

Kayla Fish contributed to this report.