Aug. 27, 2002

GW Breaks Ground on New Residence Halls

23rd Street Projects Underway

By Greg Licamele

Amid a sunny sky and a street-carnival atmosphere, GW broke ground Aug. 8 for two new residence halls on 23rd Street. These two facilities will add 900 beds to the University’s residential quarters.

“This is an exciting time in the University’s history and in the District of Columbia’s history,” said DC Councilman Jack Evans of Ward 2. “We are very much looking forward to having new dormitories built to house students in the Foggy Bottom community. This is a real step in the right direction and the University has worked closely with the neighborhood to make this happen.”

President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg remarked, “GW is making another move closer to being one of America’s most distinguished universities as we develop a greater residential capacity and as we work toward a community where people live, study, and work together.”

Designed to compliment historic buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, the Townhouse Row project will consist of eight attached units featuring traditional-style facades with brick and stone construction. Located on the east side of 23rd Street between F and G Streets, NW, each townhouse will include living, dining, and kitchen space and will sleep from 24–30 people.

The new apartment-style residence hall will have 710 beds with 29 one-bedroom and 163 two-bedroom units. Each apartment includes a bathroom for each bedroom, a kitchen, and a living and dining room combination. The units will be equipped with cable TV and high-speed Internet connections. The building also will include dining and retail space, six music rehearsal rooms, and two levels of below-ground parking with 89 spaces. Similar to Townhouse Row, the architecture of the residence hall will blend with the surrounding neighborhood, using brick and stone in a traditional style.

Laetitia Combrinck, a Foggy Bottom resident, cited the value of strengthening a community feeling amid the neighborhood’s need for more on-campus beds.

“I think this is a positive step the University has made in creating residence halls,” Combrinck said.

The intersection of 23rd and G streets will continue to experience a revitalization, predicted Robert Chernak, vice president for student and academic support services. Chernak said the combinations of the Lerner Family Health and Wellness Center, the Smith Center, the two new residence halls, and a proposed new building for the School of Business and Public Management, will invigorate student and academic life.

“This will be a new hub of campus not too dissimilar from what Kogan Plaza was when it was constructed,” Chernak said.

 

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