Governors Island, one of the most beautiful but underdeveloped public spaces in the city, is looking for tenants. NY1's Jill Urban filed the following report.

Governors Island is one of the most picturesque and peaceful pieces of city real estate, but it's also the most underdeveloped. The island was opened to the public back in 2003 and is finally becoming a destination for visitors.

"It was a military base and off-limits to the people of New York from around 1800 until 2003," says Leslie Koch of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation. "The federal government, after the Coast Guard had left in 1997, sold it to the people of New York, the City and State of New York for $1."

The federal government still owns 22 acres of decommissioned forts that serve as a national monument. The remaining 150 acres are still being developed.

"Thirty-three acres of that are slated for future development where you can build new buildings and then there are in the historic district 52 buildings," says Koch. "They range in size from 4,000 square feet to 350,000 square feet. Almost all of those buildings are vacant."

The island's historic district alone has 1.4 million square feet of landmarked space in need of tenants. These buildings, however, need renovation to be brought up to code.

Other buildings on the island are being demolished to make room for new construction and for a new set of public spaces and parks.

"We are always looking for a mix of tenants that fit within our deed restrictions and so we've talked to a variety of, for example, hotel enterprises, a mix of nonprofits, laboratories looking for research space, universities," says Koch.

Since the island is public space, developers must submit bids through a request for proposal process.

Three tenants are already on board. One is the New York Harbor School, a high school slated to open in the Fall of 2010.

In Building 110, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council will offer its artists performance and workspaces and some of their work will contribute to the island's rich cultural programs.

The third tenant is New York Water Taxi Beach, a popular outdoor dining and entertainment venue.

After that, there's magnificent space for the taking.

While there's plenty of room for development here on Governors Island, there will be no stand-alone residential development, as it is strictly prohibited in the deed. The only way people could live on the island is in housing attached to another institution, like university-built dorms.

This season alone, Governor's Island recently logged 120,000 visitors to its park space, but that is just the beginning. Now that it's back on the map, many hope the island will soon be on the radar for developers.