Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of The Wharf, which, at roughly $2B and 24 acres, is one of the biggest private developments in DC history.

What you might not know is that, before anything could be built, it took a team of lawyers years of blood, sweat and tears to clean up all of the titles involved in the development area.

“This included private waterfront, District and Federal rights, riparian rights, legislation to transfer property, filled land from the Washington Cannel, and fixing any gaps and gores prior to subdividing,” says Candace Chazen, a VP at Fidelity National Title and Insurance Co. “It was all very complicated.”

Fidelity was also the Title and Closing partner for The Yards, a massive residential development along the Capitol riverfront that’ll contain roughly 3,400 residential units when it's all done, as well as several other big developments underway in DC.

Candace says projects like The Wharf and The Yards have been made possible by the trend of car-less Millennials moving to the ‘burbs, which then drives mixed-use development.

“Mixed-use development continues to expand in the city and the suburbs,” Candace says. “Millennials are continuing to populate urban areas and Baby Boomers are downsizing and also moving towards more urban places of convenience." She says this makes the suburbs take on a more urban appearance and continues to drive demand for retail, home and office.