BOCA RATON — City officials want to know how much longer the developer building the Eden condo will take to get it done.

Work on the four-building, condo-conversion project began four years ago, and construction permits will expire in September.

Right across from city hall, where once sat a 204-apartment complex, construction has been taking place on and off.

According to the city code, three extensions of building permits may be granted. The permits for this project have been extended twice.

To get a third extension, developer Boca East LLC, an affiliate of Ceebraid-Signal Corp., will have to go before the city council.

"Either they have to convincingly demonstrate how they plan to complete the project, or the City could - and should - pursue other alternatives," Mayor Steven Abrams wrote in an e-mail.

It isn't the first time Eden representatives find themselves facing an ultimatum. Last year the city considered calling for demolition if they didn't speed up the project.

Rumors also have circulated for years as to when the condo-conversion on Palmetto Park Road will be finished and why it has taken the developer so long.

Adding more pressure are recent lawsuits against Boca East LLC from frustrated contractors who haven't been paid. The latest was filed two weeks ago by Patent Construction Systems, a division of Harsco Corp., which finished its work on the Eden project in January and has yet to be paid $84,210, the lawsuit claims.

The silence from Eden representatives hasn't helped. Fifteen months have passed since their last promised completion date of March 2006.

Buyers and residents have theories that range from the developer reconsidering the original plan to simply looking for a way to get out.

"They basically played with people," said a condo-unit owner who asked not to be identified. Asked if he's ever heard or received any letters from the developer on the status of the project the unit owner referred to them as "very difficult people" who have never returned his calls.

"I just want to know what's going on."

Adam Schlesinger, the project's president, did not return calls Monday.