The Capitol Riverfront is the first new mixed-use neighborhood emerging from the larger Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a partnership between the District of Columbia and federal agencies to revitalize neighborhoods, enhance and protect parks, improve water quality, and increase access to Washington's Anacostia River. The Capitol Riverfront neighborhood forms the core of this emerging urban waterfront.

Significant real estate development has occured and is continuing around the Canal Park site. Immediately to the east, the Capper-Carrollsburg Hope VI project represents 750,000 square feet of office space and 1,800 new housing units. The Federal Gateway II office building will have 234,000 SF of office space and 13,000 SF of ground floor retail.Immediately to the west, the Federal Gateway I building provides 300,000 square feet of office and retail space. Capitol Hill Towers consists of 300 units of housing and a Marriott Courtyard hotel. Directly across the street, the U.S. Department of Transportation houses 7,000+ federal office workers in a two-building campus. The redevelopment of the Southeast Federal Center will provide 2,500 units of housing, 1.9 million square feet of commercial space, and a five-acre waterfront park.

With over 40 percent of its land currently in redevelopment, Washington's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood represents one of the country's largest urban waterfront transformations.