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A sprawling mass of waterfront property, 36 acres on Staten Island's north shore, has remained vacant since it was abandoned by the Navy in the mid-1990s. But five years ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the Staten Island homeport would soon be transformed into a vibrant, bustling community.

"Our final plan for Homeport responds to the community's concerns and also fits perfectly into our administration's five-borough strategy for economic growth by making our communities more livable, more business friendly, and more economically diverse," said Bloomberg in 2004.

The plan called for 350 units of housing, a restaurant, sports complex and stores, along with an esplanade, open space and road reconstruction. The city dedicated $66 million to the project.

But, five years later, the city's Economic Development Corporation reports that just over $5 million of that money has been spent, and only on preliminary work and consulting fees.

"This is damaging on lots of levels," said City Councilman James Oddo. "It eats away at all of our credibility, regardless of the fact that I don't represent that area, it eats away of the credibility of elected officials in the City of New York, when you go to the public time and time again and say don't worry hope is around the corner, we turn the bend, and there's no hope in sight."

The EDC blames lack of progress on the bad economic climate and resistance from developers who thought it would be tough to make money building so little housing.

But that could be about to change, as sources say the city is now in talks with Jersey City's Applied Development Company to build at least 500 housing units – six-story condos with retail space on the first and second floors.

Kevin Barry, president of the Downtown Staten Island Council, said more housing is something his not-for-profit organization has been pushing for.

"If you were to overlay this acreage on a New York City street grid, it's the equivalent of going from Union Square to the Empire State Building, a full 18 city blocks," Barry said. "And 350 units, we felt, didn't go far enough in taking full advantage of this unique spot."

Calls to the developer were not returned. The EDC says it is currently in negotiations and cannot comment on the project.

An announcement about new plans for the site could come by the end of the summer.