Forest City Washington, the local division of Cleveland-headquartered Forest City Enterprises, beat out four other competitors for the coveted role including, Chicago's Banneker Development Partners LLC, Silver Spring, MD-based Capitol Harbor LLC, Arlington, VA's Charles E. Smith Real Estate Services LP, and the District's Southeast Riverfront LLC. The company has been the force behind other area endeavors such as the recently opened Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, VA, a 1.2-million-sf open-air luxury shopping center.

Forest City's team consists of general contractors Tompkins Builders and Whiting-Turner Construction Co., as well as architectural firms Robert A. M. Stern, Shalom Baranes and SMWM. All parties involved will have their work cut out for them, building up a sprawling "neighborhood" of sorts that is designed to serve as around-the-clock stomping grounds for workers, residents and visitors.

SEFC will ultimately consist of 1.8 million sf of office space that will include the new 1.3-million-sf US Department of Transportation headquarters, between 1.8 and 2.9 million sf of residential dwellings, 350,000 sf of retail space, and as much as 100,000 sf of space reserved for cultural use. Specific to Forest City's proposal is the project centerpiece, a 5.5-acre waterfront park. "If all goes well," GSA assistant regional administrator Anthony E. Costa says, "the first spade of earth will be turned in 2005, and the final nail will be driven in 2017."