(Mark your calendars: RealShare New York Oct. 12 in New York.)

NEW YORK CITY-A Request for Expressions of Interest has been issued for the development of more than 14 acres of city-owned land on Staten Island bordering the St. George ferry terminal, city officials said Friday. The move is drawing accolades from local groups, who have long waited for traffic in and out of the ferry to be leveraged for the economic good of the area.

“We saw that site as the last great development site in St. George,” Cesar Claro, president and CEO of the Staten Island Economic Development Corp. tells GlobeSt.com. Six years ago, SIEDC hired ARUP, a consulting and design firm, to create a development and concept plan. “At the time we had had discussions with Deputy Mayor Doctoroff about that site and he told us that if we came back with a plan that was real and that promoted development at that site, that he would get the city EDC to issue an RFP to develop it.”