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 Universitys residential quarters.
This is an exciting time in the Universitys history and
in the District of Columbias 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 Americas 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 2430
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 neighborhoods 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.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu