This report was written by Hatchet staff writer Gabrielle Marush.

The University’s highest governing body gave the go-ahead for the Science and Engineering Complex Friday morning, effectively solidifying the cornerstone of the University’s plan to become a top-tier research facility.

In a closed executive session, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to approve the $275 million project, which has been in the works for almost 20 years.

“I’m thrilled and ready to go pop a bottle of champagne,” Board of Trustees Chairman Russell Ramsey said.

The Science and Engineering Complex – which was conceptualized before University President Steven Knapp’s tenure began in 2007 – is expected to improve research by providing a physical space the University hopes will be used for innovative studies. Knapp has said he hopes the building will help foster a culture of research at GW.

“This facility is essential for recruiting top faculty and students to our University,” Knapp said. The president added that this complex with support research in all fields, from law to medicine.

“This has been an aspiration for GW maybe as long as 40 years,” Trustee Nelson Carbonell said. “This has been a real collaborative effort, including faculty, deans, alumni and the board.”

The Board’s approval comes on the heels of last weeks Faculty Senate meeting, when professors voted to request more information about the price of the complex. The Faculty Senate has expressed concern over the complex in the past – questioning if the price for the engineering and science focused-building is justifiable for a University known for its international affairs and political science programs.

The $275 million estimate for the project is on par with the first cost estimate presented by the Faculty Senate in 2008. That report said the center could cost between $180 million and $270 million without equipment. University spokeswoman Candace Smith said last month the new $275 million estimate includes equipment and furniture. The estimate does not include the cost of hiring new professors to staff the departments, nor does it include costs to maintain the level of financial aid given to engineering students who receive some of the highest levels of aid at GW.

The University’s estimate is far below the estimate economics professor Anthony Yezer gave The Hatchet in March. Yezer – who specializes in real estate economics and has testified in front of Congress on mortgages during the financial crisis – conducted two different cost estimations and said a “conservative” cost estimate for the SEC is about $400 million.

GW plans to fund the complex through debt, revenue from Square 54 – recently dubbed The Avenue – and  fundraising. Senior University officials have expressed hope to bring in at least $100 million in fundraising dollars to support the SEC.

The Science and Engineering Complex is set to include about 400,000 square feet of above-grade space to house teaching and research laboratories for faculty and students in GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.  The complex – to be located on the site of the current University Parking Garage at the corner of 22nd and H streets – will greatly increase classroom space and will move the science and engineering departments under a central roof.

The design by Ballinger Architects, a Philadelphia-based firm, calls for a 400,000 square foot, eight-story building with an additional two levels below ground and four levels of underground parking. It will have a retail venue on the ground floor, but the type of venue has not been selected yet.

The main floor would be designated for non-science major education, and teaching space for science majors would be on the other floors. Research laboratories and office space would be intermixed throughout the building.

With the approval from the board, the University will now go forward with zoning permits. Construction is slated to being in 2011 and the building will be finished in 2014. Students and faculty would begin using the space in 2015.

After the executive session, the University launched a premade website touting the project.