The old brick building, formerly the Stevenson and Cook foundry and later the base for Sims Engineering, has been locked and abandoned since its asbestos roof was removed by the Dunedin City Council in 2017.
The council, which owns the building, has consulted the community on options for its future, but is yet to make a decision.
However, Bill Southworth, the spokesman for a new "action committee" of nine local residents formed to lobby for the building, said it had already been left open to the weather for "far too long".
The committee's membership also includes Bill Brown, who has already put forward his own restoration plan, and former national television newsreader Dougal Stevenson, whose great-grandfather Isaac Stevenson founded the business.
Mr Southworth, a retired journalist who worked with Mr Stevenson at the Avalon Television Network in the 1970s, said the old foundry was central to Port Chalmers' industrial history.
While it was not a listed heritage building, it had been used for gold dredge construction and other heavy maritime engineering, and was even used to repair damaged United States destroyers and build minesweepers during World War 2.
"This building is at the heart of Port's industrial history and it would be a travesty to see it demolished," Mr Southworth said.
The committee has been discussing future possible public uses for the building, and Mr Brown has already offered to purchase the building for a "peppercorn" sum and then pay for its restoration.
Mr Brown, who previously restored the Angus Motor Building in Princes St, has proposed a basic upgrade for future commercial use, if the council carries the cost of other work required, including removing trees and stabilising land above the building, rates relief and a heritage grant.
DCC property services group manager David Bainbridge said some options for the future use of the building - suggested during public consultation - were still being scrutinised by a consultant, WSP Opus.
A final report on the suggestions was expected within weeks, but the council had no funding in its budget for work on the building, he said.
"The local community has not identified a clear and viable use for the building at this stage.
"If a viable use for the building can be identified, then DCC will work to preserve the building."
In the meantime, there were also no plans to install a temporary roof to protect the building from the elements, although the building's condition was being monitored and was "unlikely to deteriorate significantly".
