Shops in Swansea's Princess Way have started to emerge after months hidden behind scaffolding and sheeting.
Work has begun to remove parts of the giant structure which have partially hidden businesses, but it could be some time yet until all the scaffolding is taken down.
The managing agent of the building, Vail Williams LLP, is trying to find a contractor to complete the repairs, it has been revealed.
Since November last year shops occupying units, including Coffee #1, Slater menswear, Zara, and Tiger have been forced to display "open as usual" signs on the metal scaffolding and sheeting to try to remind people they are there,
The scaffolding went up after it had been discovered that hundreds of large concrete tiles which clad the building were in danger of falling onto shoppers.
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It had been hoped that it would be taken down by November this year , before the Christmas shopping season got fully into gear.
But whether all the scaffolding will be gone now appears uncertain.
A spokeswoman from Vail Williams LLP said: “We value the understanding and support that has been shown while these essential safety tests have been carried out. A tender for completion of these works is now imminent.
“Once appointed, the contractor will produce a timeline for the necessary repairs. But to ensure the continued safety of the public, the scaffolding will remain in place.
"In the meantime, work has begun to remove any unnecessary hardware and large portions of scaffolding to expose shop frontages. We will continue our cleaning programme and working closely with tenants.”
Manager of Zara, Chloe Griffiths, said there was some noticeable improvement with the removal of some portions of the scaffolding, but she spoke of the frustration that there was still no completion date in place.
"We can see our windows now which is much better for us, but it is annoying because the scaffolding has been up for such a long time," she said.
"It has not been great, without any windows we haven't been able to promote our items. It has also attracted unwanted attention - we've had a lot of shoplifting.
Manager of Tiger, Traci Zaman added: "It's a improvement, it makes the shop look a lot bigger and you can now see the window displays from outside.
"We're now able to take some stands outside the door, before they would get in the way of the entrance. It has been an improvement, but obviously it will be much better when all of the scaffolding comes down.
"They have taken the white wrapping off too which helps as it makes the building a lot lighter.
"Christmas last year we took a huge loss. I'm hoping this year with the scaffolding reduction it won't be as bad.
"It's been a struggle over the last year. Customers didn't know we were here. They thought we were closed down and didn't really want to shop here as it looked derelict. It's been like it for the whole of Princess Way, not just our store.
"It did have a massive impact on trade, it was really, really down. It's picking back up now that people realise we are open, but I just hope this Christmas we are able to have the same trade we had when we opened four years ago. I'm hoping this year it will pick up.
"We'll probably have a party when all the scaffolding comes down."
