Plans for the ambitious and highly anticipated Bourdain Market are no more, at least on Pier 57. Globe-trotting TV celebrity Anthony Bourdain announced on Friday that he’s no longer working to open the sprawling, Singapore street hawker-inspired food hall on the far west side development.

Some two years after announcing that he’d be opening the market there, Bourdain says in a statement the project has been “challenging” and that they still hadn’t signed an official lease with developers RXR Realty and YoungWoo and Associates.

“Launching what is admittedly a very ambitious venture has proven to be challenging at every turn,” he says. “It seems increasingly clear that in spite of my best efforts, the stars may not align at Pier 57 which is an especially complicated site for which we still do not have a lease.”

Bourdain first started talking about dreams of opening the market about five years ago and has been seeking sites since then. With his celebrity appeal and the continued thirst for food halls, it was one of the most watched openings of the next decade.

But it’s had hiccups. A couple different sites have been rumored, and although Bourdain had a splashy preview story in the Times and Governor Andrew Cuomo named the market as a selling point for the high-profile development, Bourdain and his team never signed paperwork. (The historic pier is under construction and already has Google as a planned tenant.)

By last summer, it still hadn’t signed a lease, and earlier this year, the market lost its CEO Stephen Werther. Along the way, Bourdain also talked about struggles with obtaining visas for vendors, and even after he had announced plans for the project, developers reportedly continued to meet with other potential vendors, such as Gansevoort Market and Eataly.

Hudson River Park Trust, which managers the pier, declined to comment. RXR Realty and YoungWoo and Associates did not immediately respond to request for comment. Update: An RXR spokesperson said in a statement that the pier remains on track to open. The company is “in advanced discussions with a number of exciting retail and dining partners,” the statement said.

Bourdain added in his statement that he still hopes to pursue the project in New York City:

“I promised a certain kind of market to New Yorkers and to potential vendors, and if that vision becomes clouded, diluted or compromised, it is no longer something that our city needs,” he said. “I remain hopeful that New York will someday have such a market — I still passionately wish to create this resource that New Yorkers deserve.”