If Philadelphia were a basketball court, Market Street East would be that inexplicable dead spot on the floor, the place where the ball just doesn’t bounce.

The eight-block corridor has four Dunkin’ Donuts and two Subway sandwich shops — but no outdoor cafe. A McDonald’s sits in what used to be a porn emporium.

The mid-street shopping selection on what should be a glittery avenue ranges from drug store to cut-rate clothing to cash-for-gold. Addicts come and go from a methadone clinic. The homeless own the corners, and the constant, rolling wall of buses fouls the air.

For years, when people like Paul Levy pitched the route’s potential to developers, they answered, “Yeah, I get it, but nobody goes to Market Street.”

Now that’s changing — fast.

People involved in massive construction plans say that, finally, Market East is poised to become the worthy, prosperous connector of Center City’s two great icons, City Hall and Independence Mall.

“The pieces are in place,” said Levy, president of the Center City District, the marketing and planning agency. “’Inevitable’ may be too strong a word, but, ‘Very highly likely.’”

Others share that confidence:

“I think we’re closer now than we’ve ever been to a complete transformation of the area, and the creation of a dynamic district,” said James Cuorato, chair of the city Redevelopment Authority and president of the Independence Visitor Center. “Smart developers now are looking at this and saying, ‘This is the time, This is the place.’”

Gaze into the store windows on the south side of Market between 11th and 12th and you see ... sky. Storefronts are all that remain as demolition clears land for a $230 million, 322-apartment housing-and-retail complex. The first announced tenant is Mom’s Organic Market, a hip, gourmet food chain based in Maryland.

Across the street, the bunker-like Gallery mall is fast emptying of stores in preparation for a major overhaul. Discount-designer-clothing vendor Century 21 opened as a new east-end anchor in October, a confident first step into the future, and every week there’s a new rumor of interest from brand-name stores.