I don't have a lot of new information since I last talked about an "Area 52" project. The basic idea is to create a system of education, monitoring, and guidance to help create new sites. That's a pretty tall order. "Education, monitoring, and guidance" means that we can (hopefully) all-but-eliminate the need for the "extensive SE experience" requirements that have plagued new proposals. The key to Stack Exchange's growth is bringing this platform into the main stream. Anyone should be able to create a site (given enough support and expertise, of course), but previous Stack Exchange experience should not be necessary.
There's no way I can speculate about dates. This is all subject to change. The direct development and implementation details have wavered somewhat as the focus shifts from creating new sites to improving the first-time user experience of our current sites. But the two projects are more alike than it would seem. Ultimately the processes of "creating new sites" and "guiding existing sites" should be one in the same. So my hope is that a lot of the educational work we're doing with our current sites will translate directly into a next-generation launch process.
As for your existing proposals, there are no changes imminent. You are still gathering ideas and building support. Nothing about a next-generation process will eliminate that need. Area 51 is launching stronger sites than ever (seriously), and ultimately if a new process replaces Area 51, it would be in the name of making it easier to get your site launched; not harder.