No bids were submitted to acquire the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s SouthGate parcels on Boston’s Kneeland Street, which were hailed as the jewel of Gov. Charlie Baker’s strategy to sell off underutilized state-owned parcels to private developers.

MassDOT had set a minimum bid of $167 million for the 4.6-acre site on the edge of Chinatown, envisioning up to 2 million square feet of commercial and residential development. After receiving no submissions for Friday’s deadline, MassDOT will head back to the drawing board.

“MassDOT remains committed to working with the city of Boston and its private sector partner on this opportunity to redevelop an underutilized property in support of local economic growth for the neighborhood and community,” the agency said in a prepared statement.

MassDOT real estate officials described the site as ideal for a transformative development because of its proximity to South Station and the potential to build 30-story buildings at a gateway to downtown. But development would be contingent upon rebuilding Veolia North America’s steam plant on the site, which also contains surface parking and a MassDOT office building. MassDOT also gave developers the option of bidding on a 2-acre parcel on the median of I-93 near the entrance to the O’Neill Tunnel.

The residential development guidelines drew criticism from community activists in Chinatown who demanded more aggressive affordable housing goals to offset continuing displacement amid rising neighborhood housing prices.