TAMPA - The 54-acre New Port Tampa Bay site, a key parcel in ongoing efforts to redevelop parts of South Tampa, is up for sale.

Last week, the Tampa-based developer, EcoGroup, said it is halting plans to build condos and a marina on the waterfront site, south of Gandy Boulevard.

The company blamed the troubled real estate market for lagging sales and said it had been unable to obtain financing. The developer canceled more than $50 million in sales contracts and returned buyers' 20 percent deposits.

The listing comes at a time when the real estate market is sluggish. Several of the condos planned for downtown Tampa have either been canceled or are on hold.

Most notably, the developers of Trump Tower Tampa along the downtown riverfront have failed to obtain financing. The property has been entangled in liens and lawsuits. As a last resort, the Tampa-based developer is trying to get funding from a New York hedge fund.

Colliers Arnold is handling the sale of the New Port property, and John Gerlach, vice president, said there are several options. Eco could sell part of the land and develop the rest. It could bring in partners and develop the whole site. Or it could sell the entire parcel.

There is no listing price, Gerlach said, because of the many options. The property consists of numerous parcels assembled together.

The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's Office lists the assessed value of the parcels at $25 million.

Company president Ed Oelschlaeger could not be reached for comment Thursday, but he told The Tampa Tribune last week that his company wants to stay involved in a scaled-down version of the original project.

He said new plans would include the two originally planned condo towers, but they would be smaller and less expensive and wouldn't be built at the same time.

Sales were launched in early 2006 at an elaborate party, which included a buffet, open bar and presentations by performers in the style of Cirque du Soleil.

At the time, the developer hoped the housing slowdown would not affect the luxury condo market. Prices for the first three residential towers originally ranged from $400,000 to more than $3 million.

The property is zoned for 1,750 residences and 240,000 square feet of commercial use.

Located near another large residential development on West Shore Boulevard, south of Gandy, the project inspires high hopes in city officials that the two projects will transform that part of South Tampa.

New Port originally called for 1,200 condominiums, a 300-slip marina, a park, shops and two restaurants near the foot of the Gandy Bridge, west of West Shore Boulevard.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken @tampatrib.com.