'Several factors have affected the redevelopment ... including the economic realities of the marketplace,' GM spokesman Dan Flores said Tuesday. 'Timing is everything. Market conditions and real-estate demand will certainly affect and drive future development.' GM and its partners continue to study their options but Flores would not speculate on when the project could be built. In February, a GM executive had said model condos should be available for viewing by late summer or early fall. Right now, the mortgage crisis is crimping riverfront development. The nearly $60 million Watermark Detroit luxury residential development headed by former Detroit Pistons star Dave Bing has been delayed. Last month, Bing told The Detroit News only 28 of the 98 units had been reserved with cash deposits -- short of the approximately 54 needed to begin building. A third project, the @water, pronounced 'Atwater,' was supposed to break ground along the east riverfront last summer and feature $1.6 million penthouses. Originally, Hines said it would build the GM project in phases, starting with a high-rise condo tower on a one-acre plot next to the RenCen. Depending on its success, more would follow on three adjacent parcels. The largely residential project was intended to complement the Renaissance Center, with residents eating, shopping and watching movies in the mammoth office building and strolling along the RiverWalk. Hines and GM have deep connections. GM hired the company to oversee the RenCen facelift. 'We continue to have much interest from the public in the development of the property east of the Renaissance Center,' Hines spokeswoman Kim Jagger said. 'We expect to have plans for the first phase available later this year.' Development experts weren't surprised by the news, given the current market conditions. 'Whoever gets to the market first is probably going to be the most successful,' said Douglass Diggs, Detroit's planning and development director. 'But in this climate, it just doesn't shock me that they are pushing it back.' You can reach Robert Snell at (313) 222-2028.