DAYTON - Developer Matt Stoermer has the buildings, the tax credits and a vision for his proposed East Third Street project, The Merc.

What he needs is money, either through bank loans or new investors, to make the projects go, he said. While Stoermer has been unable to secure either one, he also is looking for a partner to help him with his downtown development venture.

Stoermer is not alone. Financing remains a major obstacle for downtown redevelopment projects, said Steve Budd, president and chief executive of CityWide Development, the city's development division. "The difficulty in getting financing is the single biggest problem we have," Budd said.

Barry Buckman, a principal with downtown Dayton architecture firm Rogero Buckman, said the economic downturn has made it harder for developers to secure loans from traditional sources . In Stoermer's case, the developer has done a good job securing alternative financing through state and federal tax credits , said Buckman, who is an architect on the project.

Stoermer's partner in The Merc, local architect Jeff Wray, died of a heart attack in June, leaving Stoermer alone in the project to redevelop 617 E. Third St., a former Dayton Power & Light steam plant, and 607 E. Third, the former Lotz Paper building. "I just can't get it done myself," he said.