What I'm saying, is if this is going to open in roughly 2 1/2 years, they already have the design's done. Blueprints drawn and stamped, and Rowling and WB's signatures on everything. 2 1/2 years would be a rush, especially if they have 6 months of demo. They aren't going to start tearing down DC without an exact plan in place. This isn't like F&F where they(if you believe rumors) can just stop and redesign midstream. If they are planning anything with that property, Rowling has seen the concept art and detailed descriptions already. So, with the tight window that the OP suggested, and with the property we are discussing, no way the design work wouldn't be done already.
Also, would they be hiring new people on to handle their most important property? Or would they use the people that have worked on the previous WWOHP projects to maintain consistency? The whole thing sounds like bs. Either the OP, his friend, or whoever told the friend, is not telling the whole truth.