Long time coming for complex

Environmental and aviation concerns held up permits for years. By the mid-1990s, developers of PortAmerica filed for bankruptcy, and developer Peterson Cos. purchased the land in 1996.

Gaylord joined with Peterson in 2000, and the project broke ground in late 2004 after a lengthy public process that included settling a lawsuit filed by neighboring residents.

Disputes also persisted over minority-owned business and county contracting opportunities. Officials for Peterson and Gaylord said they would try to boost those contracts in the future.

About 1,800 full-time, part-time and on-call employees work at Gaylord, with 200 more in the process of being hired, spokeswoman Amie Gorrell said. If National Harbor is built out as planned, more than 5,000 people are expected to work there. Gaylord had 1.4 million pre-opening room nights sold through 2018, an industry record, Gorrell said.

National Harbor’s centerpiece is a wide, tree-lined boulevard running from the shores of the river up a hill, leading to a stage for entertainment — an inspiration Milton V. Peterson drew from a visit to Barcelona, Spain. The boulevard, named American Way, frames the Masonic Temple across the Potomac in Alexandria, Va., in the center of its waterfront view.

‘‘When you do something this drastic, it takes a while,” Peterson said.