planned purchase of a luxury apartment at the Wharf development in Paget has still not been built -- and is now more than a year behind schedule.

The former Palm Reef Hotel was demolished several years ago to make way for 17 new condominiums -- many of which were sold before construction began -- and an executive hotel.

The residential units were expected to be ready by this time last year, but delays have postponed the opening by more than a year. Some units are now expected to be ready by July.

Building work on the hotel suites was expected to finish in the early part of this year, between January and March but the developer has said that the project may not be finished until the autumn.

Architect Ian Gordon of Entasis Architecture, the company working for the developers, said the development was behind schedule but was progressing well.

He said there were several delays in the early days of the complicated project including a planning appeal that had to be resolved before work could begin.

There were also extensive groundwork problems, as the initial plan was to build the new development on top of the old foundations, but after the existing hotel was demolished, it was discovered that some of the buildings did not even have foundations, and others were unsuitable.

Mr. Gordon said that three months were spent creating a "bearing area'' and pouring new foundations.

He also explained that the new development would contain an executive suite facility which would cater to business people who visited the Island for short stays.

As far as the residential units, Mr. Gordon said that all but one had been sold, and work on these units was progressing well.

He said the workers on site had been working extremely hard and were putting in extra time on weekends.

Mr. Gordon said the developers were very excited about the project and said: "It is taking a while, but good things take a while.'' TENNIS TEN