Students have seen a seemingly never-ending construction boom in recent years. Here are a handful of projects that you’ll hear about when you arrive on campus:
1. District House
Next to the Marvin Center stand the facades of three buildings on H and I streets. GW is remaking the former site of the Crawford and Schenley halls and the West End into District House, an 850-bed building also known as the “superdorm.” District House emerged as the winning name for the residence hall after a contest last year received about 400 submissions. Construction will cost $130 million, and the new hall will house sophomores, juniors and affinity housing groups starting in 2016.
2. University Counseling Center and Student Health Service
The University Counseling Center and Student Health Service are now located in separate offices on K Street. The University plans to move both to the lower level of the Marvin Center by early 2015, after former Student Association president Julia Susuni spent almost a year lobbying for a more centralized location.
3. Science and Engineering Hall
The massive building under construction at the corner of 22nd and H streets is the University’s most expensive construction project ever, expected to cost $275 million. It will feature state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories for research, which GW hopes will help put it on the map for science and engineering. The building is slated to open in early 2015.
4. 2100 Pennsylvania Ave.
A 250,000-square-foot office building will replace the row of restaurants on the 2100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, including Mehran, Thai Place and Panda Cafe. GW picked Skanska in May as the developer for the project, but has not yet announced a groundbreaking date.
5. Hillel
GW Hillel, a two-story Jewish community center at 23rd and H streets, will undergo an inside-out makeover by January 2016. The new building will have four above-ground floors, and the University will lease one for student space and help Hillel finance the project. In the meantime, Hillel is relocating to the University Honors Program townhouse at 714 21st St.
6. Hall on Virginia Avenue
The Hall on Virginia Avenue is a graduate residence hall that sits at a historic location across from the Watergate complex, but its residents have complained about dirty water and rodents. The 49-year-old hall closed last month as GW prepares for a $35 million renovation that will add more common space as well as graduate student and faculty apartments by 2016.
