By Derek Hawkins and Daniel Stoller

A $25 million plan to renovate Matthews Arena, approved by the Student Government Association (SGA) in February, has fallen more than five months behind schedule, said SGA and university officials.

Groundbreaking for the renovations was slated to begin by June 1, but ongoing university construction projects have stalled the process, SGA President Joey Fiore said.

“We’re at a standstill because we heard that the university put it on the back burner,” said Fiore, who chaired the SGA committee that proposed the renovations. “We’ve been told permitting was a problem.”

According to the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), Northeastern has not filed any construction plans with the city since the Board of Trustees voted to approve the renovations in early March.

Complexities in the construction process for a 1,200-bed residence hall at the corner of Tremont and Ruggles streets have also prevented progress on the Matthews Arena plans, officials familiar with the issue said.

That project, Parcel 18, which generated controversy on the part of Northeastern and the BRA, was cited by a number of sources as one of the reasons for the slowing of the Matthews planning process.

“There are only so many people who can shepherd these things through,” Athletics Director Peter Roby said. “There are a number of things that need to be addressed. I don’t think there’s a person here who isn’t acutely aware of the need to get the process started.”

University counsel Vincent Lembo said the time it has taken to initiate the renovations is typical for a project of this size, and denied there has been a “delay.”

“Once the building is finalized both in terms of exterior design and programmatic usage, and we have not completed that process yet, it must go through an extensive community process as well as a number of city approvals,” Lembo said. “Everyone is working hard to make this project a reality just as soon as possible.”

The arena currently houses Northeastern men’s and women’s hockey, men’s basketball, Wentworth Institute of Technology men’s hockey team and some intramural sports. Planned upgrades include a newer, better-equipped locker room, additional space for the volleyball team to practice and new rooms and facilities to accommodate new club sports teams, Roby said.

Other improvements on the table include a glass fa