Plans for a $120M development at the Congress Heights Metro station, a deal that began in 2011, could soon be moving forward.

CityPartners has severed ties with controversial landlord Sanford Capital, its previous partner on the project, and plans to submit permits for Phase 1 in May, the Washington Business Journal reports.

The property sits at the intersection of Alabama Avenue SE and 13th Street SE, next to the Congress Heights Metro station and the St. Elizabeths East Campus. The developer hopes to revitalize the area with a walkable mixed-use development.

The first phase of the project would include a 215-unit apartment building with retail and cost between $55M and $60M. CityPartners hopes to break ground by May 2019 and deliver by 2021. Future phases call for a 280K SF office building.

Sanford and CityPartners had reached a deal with WMATA in 2011 to acquire an acre at the Metro station next to three Sanford-owned apartment buildings. The deal was held up because of investigations and lawsuits over the conditions of some of the properties in Sanford's portfolio. Sanford has begun to sell off its assets, and this week CityPartners took control of the three buildings, allowing it to move forward with the project.