The bill dissolves the boards of the two corporations immediately and sets a date for the powers of the corporation to sunset on Sept. 30, the last day of the current fiscal year. Personnel, assets, and contracts will be transferred to the District before the end of the fiscal year.

"Today we are taking on several billion dollars worth of neighborhood-transforming economic development projects," Fenty says in a statement. "At the end of the day, the residents of the District of Columbia will hold me and my administration accountable for the success of these projects and this legislation gives us the clear authority to get the job done."

Even with this guidance, it is unclear what the short-term impact will be on current development during the handover. One positive indicator is that earlier this summer AWC selected five Local, Small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise-led companies to help manage the $140 million of direct investment it is making on the waterfront. There is also a second tier of projects--those that AWC has partnered with private sector companies to develop--on which these firms will advise AWC.