Plans to resurrect Port Hueneme's historic town center with a mix of housing, stores and offices are limping along, slowed by the declining housing market.

City officials have been talking about the so-called Market Street Landing for more than 20 years. The plan calls for razing an entire block of Market Street, once a center of activity, where horse-drawn wagons loaded ships at the nearby Port of Hueneme.

Despite the housing slump that has reduced demand for new homes, the city appears committed to the idea. On Wednesday, the Port Hueneme City Council unanimously agreed to appoint city staff members to negotiate the purchase of a property at 241 E. Port Hueneme Road.

The site was appraised at $727,000, Community Development Director Greg Brown said. The city might reconsider that price in January if the market continues to tank, Councilman Jon Sharkey said.

The city already owns nearly 4 acres that would be used for the project, Brown said.

But the owners of a liquor store and apartment complex reportedly are unwilling to sell the property. In the past, the city has considered using its eminent domain power to acquire the parcels.

Seal Beach-based Olson Co. had an exclusive agreement with the city to explore the feasibility of redeveloping Market Street, but that expired in April.

Still, the two parties continue to talk. And another developer has expressed some interest in the plan, Brown said, declining to name the company.

The plan calls for closing Market Street and rebuilding almost a six-acre area, between Scott Street and Port Hueneme Road, next to the Port of Hueneme and about a quarter-mile from the beach.

The Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum would remain in the old Bank of Hueneme building, but in a more park-like setting. A courtyard would function as a community meeting place, making the complex a city focal point.

About a year ago, Olson proposed building 70 homes, stores and commercial outlets, as well as a five- or six-story building for the Oxnard Harbor District and other businesses that use the Port of Hueneme.

In October, the company presented an updated plan that mirrors the last one, Councilman Murray Rosenbluth said.

Olson remains committed to the project, but "the only thing in flux is housing, and we are a housing developer," said Bill McReynolds, the company's director of development. "It's just a matter of letting the market find its balance and then bringing that into the City Council's vision."

Sharkey, who first ran for office in 1994 on the theme of making Market Street Landing a reality, worries that the city might have missed an opportunity because the housing market is headed down.

Still, acquiring another parcel is a sign of some progress, he said.

"I can't say I'm optimistic," he said. "I've learned to be patiently pessimistic. It's gone on for so long."

Rosenbluth is skeptical. "I can't see how there's potential return for investment for a developer," Rosenbluth said. By the time the market rebounds, a developer will have to present updated plans, he said.

McReynolds, however, noted that approvals for such projects often take so long that a development can be ready for sale just as the market rebounds.

The Harbor District is still interested in the project but will wait to see what kind of plan a developer offers, Executive Director Anthony Taormina said.