SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News)  - Utah's new federal courthouse may be becoming a bit of a money pit.

Its downtown block sits vacant, still hoping Congress will approve hundreds of millions of dollars to build it.

And this is exactly what the land's previous owners warned would happen.

The next time you drive by the block of dirt between Market Street and 4th South and between Main Street and West Temple, think about the millions that the feds have already sunk into it.

But not only that.

Also, think about the hundreds of thousands of dollars this project is now taking out of city, county, and state budgets.

Last January, the feds argued in court that the social club Port O' Call had to be shut and demolished immediately.

That way, they said, the court expansion project could get stimulus money.

But Port O' Call's owners said the stimulus money wasn't guaranteed and the lot could stand idle for months if not years.

And now, nearly a year later, Port O' Call has been torn down and the lot is standing idle waiting for federal money to build it.

Documents obtained by ABC 4 show that so far, the government has sunk more than 40 million dollars into the project.

And it's now seeking 211 million more.

But wait there's more.

Because Port O' Call is now out of business, that means the city, county and state no longer get its considerable tax money.

Port O' Call's owner tells ABC 4 that his business used to pay more than $300,000 in annual local taxes - money that is sorely needed in these tough times.

Also, when it closed, nearly 100 Utah jobs went with it.

So, where does the project stand now?

ABC 4 received an email Monday from Senator Bob Bennett which said, "It is still a waiting game right now."