A little noticed budget dispute in the General Assembly could slow Richmond’s rush to transform 61 acres of largely vacant city property on North Boulevard into retail stores, a hotel, offices and apartments.

The House of Delegates and the Senate appear to be split over approving Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s proposal to authorize the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to spend up to $105 million to buy land and develop a new headquarters and warehouse complex.

The governor advanced the proposal in his budget plan in December. It would allow the ABC to replace its outdated warehouse-office complex located across Hermitage Road from the city property, which includes The Diamond baseball stadium, the 9-acre home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

Relocating the ABC complex also would clear the way for Virginia Commonwealth University to obtain the property and proceed with a plan it announced last year to build a new stadium in partnership with the Flying Squirrels. While VCU has not said so, the ABC property is considered the preferred site.

Having another stadium in process would enable the city to remove The Diamond for the North Boulevard development project that it hopes will create hundreds of jobs and generate millions of dollars annually in much-needed tax revenue.

However, Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment, a Republican from James City County, has indicated he has little interest in earmarking so much of the state’s borrowing capacity for the ABC project, particularly when a future site has not been identified.

Meanwhile, Republican Delegate S. Chris Jones of Suffolk, chairman of the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, has expressed enthusiasm for providing the funds that would allow the ABC department to modernize its operation and potentially generate more income for the state’s treasury.

The decision about this budget item is expected to be made soon as the House and Senate amend the governor’s plan and issue a final budget before the General Assembly adjourns on Feb. 25.

Along with decisions on the future of The Diamond, the entry of a new mayor, Levar Stoney, also appears to be slowing the city’s pace in seeking a master developer for the Boulevard site.

City Hall has disclosed that it is wrapping up its review of the qualifications of bidders who expressed interest in tackling the potential $350 million project on property the city describes as “one of the few underdeveloped, publicly owned tracts of urban land available in the Mid-Atlantic region.”

Since November, an interagency group inside City Hall has been conducting the qualification review and is almost done, according to Peter L. Downey, deputy chief administrative officer for planning and economic development.

“Once that process is complete, we will look at the next steps,” Mr. Downey stated in response to a Free Press query about the status of the selection process, which was launched under former Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

The city seemed ready to move forward last August when it issued the request for qualifications seeking potential development groups interested in undertaking the work.

Getting started has seemed to be in the city’s interest, given that it has paid an estimated $19 million to relocate former city and school operations, to clear old buildings and to prepare the land for reuse.

According to the timetable included in the request for qualifications, the city expected to wrap up its review of developer qualifications early in January and be ready this month to issue a request for proposals to the development groups that passed muster.

Thirty days later, according to the timetable, the proposals would arrive for review, with Mr. Downey indicating in the past that the city might be ready to recommend a master developer to the City Council within two to three months.

Now there is uncertainty about that pace as the new administration seeks to get caught up on the status of this project and consider the elements that still need to be addressed, including selection of a site for a new stadium and also a replacement for the school system’s Arthur Ashe Center.

In response to a Free Press query, Mayor Stoney’s press secretary Jim Nolan confirmed that the qualification portion of the process is nearly complete, but he provided no timetable for moving head with the next step: Issuing a request for proposals.

“This is one of the most important development projects in front of us,” he stated, “and we want to make sure we take the time to do it right.”