PROVIDENCE — The fate of the former Rocky Point Amusement Park will have to wait a few more weeks.

A federal District Court judge yesterday delayed a decision on whether to OK a sale of the 83-acre property to a Providence development consortium after developer Nicholas E. Cambio, of Universal Properties, the one-time frontrunner to buy the park, submitted a last-minute bid for the land.

Cambio’s original plans to convert Rocky Point into an upscale residential development collapsed this fall when he and the U.S. Small Business Administration — the park’s court-appointed receiver — were unable to agree on a payment schedule for the property.

Weeks later, Providence-based Leach Family Holdings stepped in and signed a purchase-and-sales agreement to buy the land for $15.6 million.

Federal real estate receivership rules dictate that after a deal is signed and before a judge approves it, other prospective bidders are allowed submit proposals, provided the bidders are financially qualified and willing to pay at least 10 percent more than the purchase-and-sales agreement.

Cambio yesterday did just that. Together with a Florida-based investment consortium, he notified the court that he’s prepared to pay $17.1 million for the property (more than 10-percent higher than the Leach offer, but less than his original offer of $19 million).

Lawyers for the SBA yesterday argued that the court should reject that bid. The agency contends that its previous dealings with Cambio proved that the developer was unable to come up with the money needed to close the Rocky Point deal. If the consortium wishes to prove its solvency, it must show evidence that it has much of the payment in hand already, they said.

Cambio’s lawyer called the SBA’s position “arbitrary and capricious” and said the new consortium, Atlantic American Group Rocky Point Partners, LLC is “not being treated fairly.” Cambio is a well-established developer who has proved his financial solvency through his myriad of real estate projects statewide, lawyer Diane Finkle argued.

Cambio, she said, deserves the same deal as the Leaches, who weren’t required to have the bulk of the payment, but instead were given until the closing date in March to come with the payment in full.

Acknowledging that there was no way to determine the Cambio consortium’s financial qualifications absent a hearing, Judge Ronald Lagueux scheduled one for Dec. 5. “I will expect to take full evidence before I confirm a sale or allow these bidders to continue,” the judge said. “I will determine whether they are qualified.”

SBA regional administrator Mark Hayward yesterday reiterated the agency’s belief that Cambio is not qualified, but said the SBA would wait to see what happens at the December hearing.

Finkle refused comment yesterday and asked Cambio not to speak with reporters.

News of the delay raises fresh questions about the city’s purchase of an adjacent 41 acres of open space at Rocky Point, land it planned to buy using a combination of federal and local monies. The SBA has refused to sign off on the city’s portion of the sale until Lagueux approves a sale for the rest of the property. A federal grant earmarked for that purchase will run out by year’s end.

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian said the repeated delays will soon spell trouble for the city’s plan. “We will be there [at the December hearing] saying regardless of whose deal is better, we need to make sure our land is protected,” the mayor said. “One of the things we want to impress upon the court is that there is no further room to play with NOAA [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that will help the city buy the Rocky Point land].”

James and Peter Leach of Leach Family Holdings have said their consortium (which also includes New Jersey developer James Dale) plans to build as many as 225 townhouse-style condominiums at Rocky Point with price tags in excess of $500,000. They liken the residential project to another they are launching off the Wampanoag Trail in East Providence.

Before his deal fell through, Cambio said he was planning a similar 225-unit development of mostly single homes. Cambio had bragged that his development would rival Newport’s picturesque Cliff Walk.

Apart from his commercial developments, including much of Warwick’s Route 2 and Coventry’s Centre of New England, Cambio is also known to Rhode Islanders for his role in the state’s credit union crisis of the early 1990s.

cneedham@projo.com