Newcastle council says its Stairway to Heaven project is "feasible" and councillors will soon vote on whether to pursue detailed talks with a developer to bring the concept to reality.
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The council revived the 14-year-old idea to build a staircase linking Newcastle Harbour and Christ Church Cathedral late last year.
It voted in December to undertake a preliminary feasibility study after receiving advice that the 60-year-old King Street car park would need to be demolished.
The car park currently obstructs views of the cathedral from the harbour.
The council identified an opportunity for the staircase to be built in conjunction with nearby developer Iris Capital, potentially in exchange for the car park land.
City of Newcastle governance director David Clarke said early advice had indicated the concept would be feasible if delivered in conjunction with Iris Capital's East End development.
"After receiving the green light from our councillors in December to undertake an independent feasibility study and hold early high level discussions with developer Iris Capital and key stakeholders, we now know the Stairway to Heaven, including 380 public parking spots and community facilities, can work," Mr Clarke said.
"The imminent demolition of the former King Street parking station and pending plans for the remaining stages of Iris Capital's East End development provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an incredible view of our iconic Cathedral and to create a new and similarly iconic, open space in the heart of the city.
"The first step has been to simply determine: 'Is this possible?'.
"Now that we know the answer is yes, we're looking to the next step which would include detailed discussions with Iris Capital on the requirements to deliver the concept and further engagement with our community and stakeholders."
Councillors were briefed on the advice on Tuesday night and will vote on whether the council should pursue further talks at next week's ordinary meeting.
"Delivering additional public space which preserves local heritage and the iconic view of Christ Church Cathedral from the harbour whilst retaining 380 public car parking spaces from the King Street complex would make for a resoundingly positive outcome for the city," lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
"After successfully protecting the long-held heritage planning controls in collaboration with Urban Growth to deliver the much-needed renewal of the Hunter Street Mall precinct, this project is a priority.
"We're confident that this visionary public domain opportunity would truly benefit our community for future generations."
Iris Capital CEO Sam Arnaout said he was willing to work with the council to make the stairway become a reality.
"Iris Capital acknowledges that the stairway connection to the cathedral is a once only landmark opportunity to deliver a special piece of public infrastructure to Newcastle that is currently missing which will endure as part of the city forever," he said.
