(FORTUNE Magazine) – The $87 million debut of Men In Black II attests to Will Smith's box office prowess. But his real estate venture, called Treyball Development--named for his son Trey and run by his brother Harry--has yet to produce a blockbuster property.

Three years ago Treyball made plans to construct a $63.5 million W hotel-and-condominium complex in downtown Philadelphia. Smith convinced city officials that the project would revive the area near his old Philly stamping grounds and secured about $15 million of public loans and financing, according to Robert Fina of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., which helped negotiate the deal. (Smith declined to comment.)

As part of a consortium including Portman Holdings and Starwood Hotels, Treyball invested $3.6 million to buy and clear the land. But given the soft (and overbuilt) Philadelphia hotel market, even the Man in Black hasn't been able to find investors to pony up the $48 million needed to start construction. Progress was halted last July, and the lot has sat vacant for over a year. Our advice? Smith should stick to the silver screen.

--Eric Dash