The GSA announced in January of last year that Forest City Washington, the local arm of Cleveland-based real estate company Forest City Enterprises, had beat out a handful of competing teams to spearhead the $800 million endeavor. "Forest City Washington will be the master developer for the entire site and they will draw it down in phases with designs that they present to GSA our approval."

The sprawling parcel at the Southeast Federal Center sits along the Anacostia River in a section of southeast DC, a section that is currently undergoing a long-term revitalization effort. The Forest City endeavor will take an estimated 16 years to complete, but when all is said and done, the property will be home to 3.2 million sf residential offerings for ownership and for rent; two million sf of space reserved for office, retail and cultural use; and a five-acre park and promenade fronting the river. New structures will be complemented by existing historic buildings that have been designated for reuse and, a GSA spokesperson adds, "There will be a combination of owned and leased sites involved." Eventually, the development will sit alongside the a new 1.4 million-sf US Department of Transportation complex occupying 11 acres of the Southeast Federal Center.

Forest City will be joined in its development efforts by the architectural firms of Robert A.M. Stern of New York City, Washington, DC's Shalom Baranes Associates, and San Francisco-based SWMM. Additionally, Baltimore's Whiting-Turner Construction Co. and the District's Tompkins Builders are onboard the project as the general contractors.