Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group has tapped veteran builder Rick Holliday to jump-start a 340-unit housing project at the former Coca-Cola bottling plant on Third Street. The $150 million project has been on hold since April when the former developer, Noteware Development, ran into financial trouble.

The first phase of the revived project, 140 units of housing and the city’s first Fresh & Easy grocery store, is now on track for completion in a year to 14 months. The podium of the building at 5800 Third St. was 80 percent complete in April when construction was shut down.

“Rick has all the attributes we seek in a partner,” said Jesse Blout, managing director of Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. “He is creative, community-minded, and knows how to bring a project in on time and on budget. Just as importantly, Rick has been in the business for more than two decades and has what it takes to successfully develop in a difficult market.”

For Holliday, the development represents a return to his roots after nine years of focusing on the East Bay and beyond. During the 1980s and 1990s Holliday was a pioneer in South of Market loft development, building the 83-unit 601 Fourth St. in 1988 and the 127-unit Clocktower Lofts at 461 Second St. in 1993, as well as live/work projects in Potrero Hill and along Van Ness Avenue.