By the end of the year, the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority may finally start moving down the path toward using a $2.4 million federal grant it received nearly a decade ago to purchase ferries.

The port authority's executive director said he anticipates a request for qualifications for a private ferry operator will be issued by the end of the year, marking a key step in getting them on the Detroit River and in use.

The Federal Highway Administration awarded the grant in 2010 under the Obama administration but the funding has sat unused ever since as the port authority has studied the matter and dealt with other issues —most recently, an authority-owned cargo dock on Clark Street near the Ambassador Bridge that needs repairs.

"We certainly haven't forgotten about the water taxi idea, it just has taken a back seat for the moment," Kyle Burleson said in an interview last week.

Developer interest along the Detroit River remains high but concerns over an economic slowdown and increasing construction costs loom. Burleson said in cities like Chicago, where such a service morphed from being aimed mostly at tourists to one that is a practical option for daily commuting, real estate developers have taken notice.

"Housing developments are promoting it," he said. "It gives us hope that once we get this thing off the ground, it could take off and then we could start talking about expanding outside of downtown."

Previous visions have called for it to provide services on the river outside of Detroit, in areas like Wyandotte and Grosse Ile. But a more concentrated vision is on the table right now, Burleson said.

"Let's focus on something that can serve the downtown area right now," he said. "I think if you start with Belle Isle as your easternmost stop and Wilson park as the westernmost, with stops at Milliken and our office, that's a pretty good backbone."

Discussions with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which manages Belle Isle to the east, and the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, which is working on the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park development to the west, have been "very encouraging," Burleson said.

The conservancy declined comment. In 2017, Mark Wallace, president and CEO of the conservancy, said the organization "would love to see water taxis on the Detroit riverfront in the near future."

In order to get the money, the port authority has to submit to the FHA a business plan, the planned stops and route, projected schedule and an agreement or contract with a private operator.

The grant application that was written under a previous executive director said that the boats would be purchased and operational within 12 months.

A study completed in January 2015 for the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy by Detroit-based Freshwater Transit Solutions LLC suggested phasing in water taxi service in three stages with stops at various points along the river: the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle, the former Uniroyal Tire Co. factory site, the Roberts Riverwalk Hotel, Rivard Plaza, the Renaissance Center, the port authority and the west riverfront. It also said operations should start small and be expanded in varying phases.

"I want to make sure that if we spend this money, it's spent wisely and with a well thought-out plan and we are not ready to do that yet," Burleson said. "I'm hoping to have some better ideas by the end of the year about who might operate this."