Today's DC Extra in the Post leads with "Envisioning SoHo at the Southeast Waterfront," about Forest City's plans to transform the Southeast Federal Center. As regular visitors to JDLand already know, the SEFC plans are revitalization on a grand scale--2,600 units of housing, 2 million square feet of office/retail/cultural space, and a 5.5-acre waterfront park--but we learn from the article that the project is also on a grand timeline, a proposed 16-year building schedule, with groundbreaking is estimated to be 2 1/2 years away.

The GSA and Forest City Enterprises have at last signed their development agreement, and yesterday Forest City was handled a symbolic key to the 44 acres of the Southeast Federal Center, the first time the feds have ever allowed private development on government land.  Plans are to turn this area on the Anacostia waterfront over the next five years into a "vibrant new neighborhood destination with up to 1.8 million square feet of office space, 2,700 residential units, 250,000 square feet of retail and a five-acre waterfront park with a promenade along the Anacostia River, as well as other public amenities." Construction is currently slated to start in 2007. You can also read a recent Forest City feature about the project for more details (it's three pages long, don't miss the links at the top of the page).

Landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd is to discuss her firm's projects, including the recent winning competition design for Washington Canal Park, Thursday, May 26 at 8 pm, at the National Building Museum. The lecture is worth 1.5 continuing-education units. Admission is $17, $10 for students; registration is required. Also at the NBM, there will be a black-tie gala presenting the 2005 honor award to Forest City Enterprises, developer of Capper/Carrollsburg and the Southeast Federal Center, at a black-tie gala on June 1 at 6:30 pm. Tickets are a steal at $500. Call 202-272-2448 or visit http://www.nbm.org for information.

Forest City Enterprises Inc. has been chosen as the developer of the 44 acres of the Southeast Federal Center not included in the DOT HQ project. This is a huge chunk of the entire Near Southeast Redevelopment, so let's keep our fingers crossed that the winners put forth a fantabulous proposal of residential, retail, office, and park/river/green space (as soon as I can get my hands on their proposal, I'll post it here). For more about What It Means, read the Post story, or the Forest City Press Release, or The Slatin Report.