GW students said they are disappointed with the results of this year’s housing lottery.
There were three of us and only doubles left on campus, freshman Greg Christensen said. So we had to play rock-paper-scissors, and I lost.
For students whose lottery numbers did not provide them with the on-campus housing they desired, there are many apartments in the area available for rent, with Columbia Plaza among the most popular choices for GW students.
Columbia Plaza, located on Virginia Avenue near the Hall on Virginia Avenue and the Watergate, offers 800 apartments. Efficiencies start at $850 per month, and one- and two-bedroom apartments start at $1,425 and $2,100 respectively.
I needed a lot more space than I had in the dorm, said Sabrina Ashjian, a junior living in a two-bedroom apartment. It’s less money, but you also have to pay for summer months and take care of everything yourself.
But these apartments are not always easy to obtain. Ashjian said she had to call like five times a day as soon as she decided she wanted to live there.
Walter Bortz, vice president for Administrative and Information Services, said GW students currently occupy one-quarter of the 800-unit complex, but it is unknown how many staff and faculty live there.
The Westpark in DuPont Circle, an apartment building that advertises in GW’s Schedule of Classes, has a fair number of GW students living there, despite being a 20-minute walk from campus, an employee of the Westpark said. The employee said efficiencies start at $800, one-bedrooms from $950 to $1,300 and two-bedrooms from $1,500-$1,800.
A more upscale building is Bristol House, also in Dupont Circle. Efficiencies start at $1,050 for a 5,000-square foot apartment, up $50 from last year. Joseph Obuba, a clerk at Bristol House, said demand for the apartments is greater than it was last year. He attributed the increase to word-of-mouth advertising.
Another popular choice for GW students is the Statesman, an apartment complex located at 2020 F St. near Thurston Hall.
Small (500-square foot) studios range between $930 and $1,030; large (625-square foot) studios are between $975 and $1,070; junior one-bedrooms are $1,035-$1,175; and large one-bedrooms go for between $1,175 and $1,300, depending on the various features of the apartment. A desk clerk who wished to remain anonymous said the complex’s population is about 60 percent GW students and 40 percent professionals and older folks.
He also said demand is really high, but the turnover isn’t great, and the apartments only start to open up in the summer months after some student residents graduate.
-Russ Rizzo contributed to this report.
