After nine years in limbo, construction could soon resume on a seemingly abandoned corner of the South Park Target lot — a fenced-in foundation strewn with metal rods, PVC pipes, cinder blocks and overgrown weeds.
The owner, Saad Hirmez, is resuming his plans to build a one-story structure with OceanAir Credit Union as its primary tenant, along with DMV and insurance services and a cafe.
“If you hear anything about [the construction] being abandoned, or that no one cares, that’s not true,” Hirmez said.
But it’s no surprise that the unfinished building raised questions from locals, given years of delays and inactivity. The city began its review of the new plans a month ago, following a series of permit applications, expirations and cancelations.
Hirmez submitted his initial application in 2017, but it expired the following year before city staff issued a permit.
In 2018, the city issued a right-of-way permit, allowing Hirmez to configure the site for infrastructure like utilities, sidewalks and gutters. Hirmez said all of that necessary work is complete.
It wasn’t until May 2020 that he broke ground on initial construction of the building, after the city approved his follow-up application for the expired 2017 request .
But that also did not lead to a finished building. A spokesperson for the city’s development department said that permit expired in 2025 after Hirmez failed to complete necessary inspections.
He opened another building permit in September 2025, but canceled it the following month.
Hirmez said he experienced severe medical complications over the past six years, which delayed the project. Now, he’s ready to see it through.
“It’s kind of been a nightmare,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that it’s taken so long. It’s been a very slow process.”
Construction can’t resume until Hirmez receives yet another fresh building permit. He said he couldn’t renew the 2020 approval and needed to start over because his plans no longer aligned with city engineering codes, which are updated every three years.
He submitted his latest application in February, and city staff is currently reviewing it, the city spokesperson confirmed.
“The hardest part has been done,” Hirmez said, referring to the right-of-way permit construction, which required closing off streets and completion of traffic control operations.
He anticipates construction taking between 8 to 12 months before the credit union is open to the public.
