GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Long-stalled expansion plans for The B.O.B. are still alive, documents show, but have been redesigned after two high-profile deaths from falls in a stairwell at the downtown entertainment complex last year.

Greg Gilmore, owner of The B.O.B. at 20 Monroe Ave. NW in downtown Grand Rapids, is expected to ask city commissioners this month for more time to begin construction of the ambitious expansion, according to sources familiar with the project.

It would be the fifth time he has sought more time for the development, informally dubbed “Bobville” after plans were announced in 2005.

On Feb. 4, 2013, Gilmore released updated sketches and pledged to begin construction of the $5 million expansion, which includes plans for a four-story, 2,000-person "flex" event space.

Related: 2013 plans for 'Bobville'

About three months later, on April 14, Zachary Bunting, 21, fell and died in a now-enclosed interior fire exit stairwell shaft at The B.O.B. A month after that, on May 12, Kevin O'Brien fell to his death — an incident that eventually resulted in a 10-day suspension of the facility's liquor license, which The B.O.B. called an "injustice."

On July 11, 2013, Gilmore wrote to city officials about the expansion, according to city records obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request.

“Due to the highly unfortunate and uncontrollable events of 2013 at The B.O.B., we have redesigned our project,” Gilmore wrote. “It is far more advantageous for the city and safer for the general public.”

Two weeks later, city commissioners approved an extension of his 2009 development agreement that gave Gilmore another year to submit plans for final approval.

The city has a 10-day notice option to cancel the agreement at any time.

Greg Gilmore at a Michigan Liquor Control Commission hearing in Grand Rapids on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. Gilmore is CEO of the Gilmore Collection, which owns the The B.O.B. The hearing was looking into allegations that The B.O.B. had over-served patrons.

Gilmore, who is required to submit quarterly updates on the project per the development agreement with the city, told officials in October that the expansion project was being split into two separate but integrated pieces.

A “flex” event space is still part of the project, according to his quarterly updates, but new plans include a new mixed-use multi-story building along Ottawa Ave. NW in an area previously designated as an outside festival marketplace.

“Each phase is very exciting, but combined they offer a unique and very exciting project for the city,” Gilmore wrote in a January email.

Gilmore has been seeking partners in the project, the emails show.

John Wheeler of Orion Construction has been involved in meetings between Gilmore and city officials, emails show. Orion Construction is currently building the $45 million Arena Place housing and office development 55 Ottawa Ave. SW.

Plans for Bobville have been scaled-back considerably over the years from what was once an estimated $20 million project. Early designs included a boutique hotel and condominiums with an integrated parking structure.

The contract between Gilmore and the city includes a buy-back provision for a 29,000-square-foot parcel of land between The B.O.B. and CWD’s next-door Fifty Monroe office complex, for which Gilmore paid the city $1.9 million in 2008.

The parcel encompasses a parking lot and part of what used to be Ferry Street NW, a former alley-like cut between Ottawa and Monroe avenues that was vacated in 2013 in anticipation of The B.O.B. expansion project.

Complications with the street vacation and the recent economic recession are considered major factors in the delay in Gilmore’s expansion plans thus far.

About $1 million in previously approved state brownfield development tax credits for the project are set to expire in 2015.

Kara Wood, city economic development director, said Gilmore’s last quarterly progress report on the project was submitted in January. Gilmore met with Wood and other city officials in late June to discuss The B.O.B. expansion project.

She declined to elaborate on what was discussed at the meeting, which occurred ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for Gilmore to either submit final plans or reach an agreement with the city to push back groundbreaking.

Gilmore declined to comment on the development plans when contacted directly and through his contracted public relations firm, Seyferth PR.

He is expected to seek the extension at the Aug. 12 City Commission meeting.

If Gilmore wants to sell alcohol at either of the two new expansion phases when they are complete, regulators say he would need to seek city and state approval to extend his liquor license to the new facility areas.

On July 13, The B.O.B. reopened after a 10-day liquor license suspension imposed by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission after an inquiry into allegations that B.O.B. employees over-served O'Brien the night he fell.

Andrea Miller, spokesperson for the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, could not say exactly how the recent inquiry and subsequent legal wrangling over the suspension might affect a liquor license request from The B.O.B.

According to state liquor code, "general business reputation" as well as the "opinions of the local residents, local legislative body, or local law enforcement agency" are factors the MLCC takes into consideration when making decisions.

“They’ll take his history into consideration,” she said. “Every license is different. They take everything into consideration.”

Garret Ellison covers business, government and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter & Instagram