With D.C. favoring Microsoft and two other firms as anchors for the old St. Elizabeths Hospital, the city no longer has to rely on the planned move of thousands of federal employees there to start attracting more commercial development.

The breakthrough marks a major shift for one of D.C.’s marquee redevelopment projects: The city now has the goods in its own right to turn this long-overlooked section east of the Anacostia River into a shining example of revitalization.