If the deal to sell the Haymarket Town Center property to commercial developer Gerry Kennedy is not delayed again, the Town of Haymarket could have an additional $2.3 million in its coffers to work with before the next fiscal year's budget is voted on in June.

But if it is not, then it's back to the drawing board for the town council.

Kennedy revealed this past week that he has been in discussions with three banks recently with the hopes that one of them will sign on with him to support the project once it goes to settlement.

The developer said he would like to settle by the end of the month and is "confident" it will be settled before the 45-day extension offered by the town council expires May 12.

His multi-million dollar proposal has already been approved by the town on a 5-1 vote, but during the last year and a half, it has been repeatedly delayed for a host of reasons.

Most recently, the biggest issue Kennedy has faced is getting a bank to co-sign with him. Kennedy attributed this is to the economy as he said the bank representatives have been generally supportive of his business model which would bring up to 20 small businesses on to what would be renamed the Haymarket Oldetowne Centre.

"It's become challenging to finance development projects," Kennedy said.

Part of the deal also calls for four historic buildings from around town to be moved to the property as a preservation effort.

Town council members have been barred from talking about who is co-signing with Kennedy in public because it is a topic discussed in closed-door, executive sessions.

If Kennedy secures the backing of just one bank, then the plan would begin to be implemented within a week of signing and would take up to a year to complete. Kennedy claimed his project would create about 100 jobs during the duration of construction as various contractors with different specialties, like plumbing, engineering and electrical installation among others, would be employed.