A tight credit market is delaying the new look and new life for one of Anniston's most prominent landmarks.

Renovation plans for Watermark Tower, the new name for the historic 10-story structure at the southeast corner of 10th and Noble streets, are waiting on financing that has become tough to find in recent months, according to the project's developer.

"It's a much tougher lending environment than when we first started on the project," said Andrew Ham, director of development and financing for Community Development Partners Inc., the firm behind the renovation.

Community Development Partners agreed to buy and redevelop the property in a 2006 deal with the Anniston Water Works and Sewer Board, the building's owner.

The building has been mostly vacant since a fire in the upper floors in 2003 damaged much of the tower, chasing out the anchor tenant, AmSouth Bank, and the other professional offices.

The water board bought the building in 2005, and has plans to move into the basement, second floor and a portion of the first floor once the renovations get under way. But there's no telling yet when that will be.

"We are, like everybody else, getting a little frustrated," said Jim Miller, the water board's general manager.

Miller pointed to the nationwide sub-prime mortgage crisis as part of the reason some banks aren't anxious to lend. Other banks, however, have maintained an interest in the downtown project. Those institutions have continued to request information about Community Development Partners and the water board, he said, which he takes as a sign of serious interest.

"But until we get them a loan there's not much we can do," Miller said.

Community Development Partners' Web site lists the renovation as costing around $7.2 million. The company has just over $1 million in historic preservation tax credits to help pay that cost.

The project would remove the building's white-and-black façade, returning it to the original brick exterior the tower sported when it opened in 1927 as Anniston's tallest structure.

Ham said the developers have loan proposals before four lenders now, and are lining up prospective tenants to show there's viable commercial interest in the redevelopment.

Miller and Ham both declined to name the banks considering the project, though Ham said they are local institutions.

Meanwhile, Community Development Partners is looking for professional firms such as law offices to take space in the building, including many of the tower's former tenants.

"We have a good list of professional firms that have expressed interest," Ham said. He expects lenders eventually to agree to a pre-leasing scheme, under which tenants sign up for space in the building before the loan is approved.

"Once we achieve some level of occupancy, that will trigger the loan," he said.

Miller said the water board has modified its agreement with Community Development Partners to pay rent for the office space it uses for seven years after selling the building to the developers. That seems to have piqued the interest of some lenders, but the project is still on hold.

Miller said he is tempering his frustration with the knowledge that the building is still standing. It nearly was demolished after the 2003 blaze before the water board stepped in, he said.

"Frankly I've never had any illusions about this being easy," he said, noting that the project still has been more difficult than he expected. "But that doesn't mean it's not worth doing."