Some interest has been shown in preserving the old nurses' home at Southland Hospital in Invercargill, but no formal project has yet been put to the Southern District Health Board.
At this stage the identity of those interested remains a mystery.
The nurses' home and the old administration building at the Southland Hospital site have been under threat of demolition because they are structurally unsound and the board says it cannot afford to pay the estimated $5 million to restore them.
Both have category 1 historic classifications.
At its July meeting, the DHB delayed demolition plans until October in case there was interest in preserving either building for a compatible use.
Board services and site development manager Warren Taylor said there had been an extension of time allowed for consideration of the buildings' future, but if there was no commitment to a project a recommendation would eventually need to go to the board on the matter.
He indicated there had been some interest in the preservation of the nurses' home, rather than the administration building, but did not wish to elaborate.
The board has allocated more than $200,000 in this year's budget to demolish the buildings, but a consent was yet to be obtained.
New Zealand Historic Places Trust Otago Southland area manager Owen Graham said he hoped this situation meant that the door had not been closed on any viable propositions for either of the buildings.
Mr Taylor said planning was already well under way for a $2.4 million two-storey building at the hospital site to accommodate some administration offices, a board room, teaching areas and a skills laboratory.
About 30 staff, moved from the unsafe buildings earlier this year, are being housed in the old dining building.
Mr Taylor said the unstable buildings were a considerable risk to the board in their unsafe state.
