The son and wife of bankrupt developer Seán Dunne have cleared the final hurdle in the planning process to build their $22 million (€17 million) proposed development in the fashionable Soho area of New York City.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission, the agency that oversees building work in the city's historic areas, gave approval at the start of this month to revised plans submitted by TJD21, the company owned by Mr Dunne's second wife Gayle Killilea Dunne and his son John.

Plans were updated in August to move the entrance, stairwell and lift in the proposed five-storey project to the other side of the building.

City planners at New York’s board of standards and appeals are drafting a compliance letter that will be sent within two weeks to the department of buildings that will allow construction work to begin.

Filed records show that TJD21, for which Seán Dunne has said he is a paid adviser, expects to make a profit of $3 million from selling four apartments in the building for between $3.3 million and $7.7 million.

One of the most prominent property developers of the Celtic Tiger era, Mr Dunne filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut with debts of $942 million after being pursued by Ulster Bank over a debt of €164 million.

December trial

He is seeking to withdraw his US bankruptcy case due to the cost involved and because he has also been adjudicated a bankrupt in

Ireland

. The matter will go to trial in Connecticut in early December.

The National Asset Management Agency and his court-appointed bankruptcy trustee are contesting his release from the debt-clearing process.

Nama has claimed that he fraudulently transferred tens of millions of euros to his wife and that some of this money is being used to develop properties in the US through her companies which he controls.