In a city bursting with building activity, one Melbourne building site has sat silent for years, wrapped in scaffolding and screens with an idle crane perched on top.
The land on the corner of Queen and Bourke streets was meant to make way for a glittering, 71-storey skyscraper called Tower Melbourne.
But a bitter, protracted legal stoush between two deep-pocketed Singaporean property owners has stalled the project for years leaving hundreds of apartment owners in limbo.
Singapore-listed construction giant Chip Eng Seng, the developer behind Tower Melbourne, pocketed an estimated $50 million in deposits after it controversially sold most units in the project through its local arm, CEL Australia, before gaining planning approval in 2012 for the soaring, serrated tower.
Since then, CEL has been locked in multiple legal battles with its neighbour, a company called Colonial Range controlled by the wealthy Singaporean Chow family who maintain Tower Melbourne will interfere with its own development at 150 Queen Street.
Caught in middle are the apartment owners. All 581 have been asked to re-sign their purchase contracts, which have now blown out to 2021.
Apartment owners angry at long wait
"It has been five years and there is no progress except the legal disputes that have gone on endlessly with the neighbour," Indonesian investor Vivi Waloejo said.
"Many of us put our hard-earned money in buying Australian property and were thinking this is a safe country to invest in.
"We need Australian government to act to protect off-the-plan buyers."
Thomson Geer partner and property lawyer Eu Ming Lim said buyer contracts generally had a specified period in which a project must be completed.
"If a developer doesn't meet that time frame then the buyer has the right to walk away and exit the contract," Mr Lim said.
Apartment buyers were likely to re-sign a contract if the terms they were offered were "sufficiently attractive for them to do so", he said.
Melbourne's property values have risen substantially over the past five years providing an incentive for buyers to re-sign, particularly if they were offered similar per square metre rates to what they originally paid.
But a question and answer sheet sent to Tower Melbourne buyers asks the question, "Can I terminate/rescind the contract now the project is delayed?"
Before answering: "No, both purchaser and vendor are bound by the current terms of the contract."
CEL refused to comment when contacted by Fairfax Media.
The multiple legal cases have turned the project into Melbourne's most litigious real estate battle.
In a recent update to apartment owners, CEL wrote: "In order that we do not prejudice the ongoing nature of the legal dispute, we have been unable to provide you with detailed information.
"We understand this is frustrating," it said, adding the project had been stalled by multiple appeals, five to date, at the Building Appeals Board with another hearing at a future, unspecified date.
"Concurrent with these BAB hearings there have also been a number of Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and High Court appeals brought by the adjoining owners," CEL said.
Investors, many based overseas, worry the tower won't be built.
In a separate letter to buyers, CEL said it would return any interest accrued on their purchase deposits if and when the apartments were eventually settled.
"Tower Melbourne, once complete, will be an iconic place to live in the world's most livable city," CEL wrote.
"We are not yet able to place a definitive time frame on resolution of these matters or when building works can recommence."
Colonial Range was contacted for comment.