The University exercised an option to purchase a 450,000-square-foot office building in Foggy Bottom earlier this month, further strengthening its grip on property near campus.

The University purchased 600 19th St. NW from the World Bank, an office building across the street from Thurston Hall that’s valued at $231.6 million, per the deed. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said the University entered an agreement with the World Bank in 1980 that included an option allowing the University to purchase the building at a later date.

“The property is currently leased through 2028 by the General Services Administration, and the University has not identified a use beyond that date,” she said. “GW regularly makes decisions regarding its real estate portfolio in support of the University’s broader academic mission.”

The DC Office of Tax and Revenue shows GW purchased the building for $11.5 million – well below the building’s value of about $230 million. The General Services Administration pays about $23 million per year in rent for the building until 2028, according to the Washington Business Journal.

The 1980 agreement allowed the University to purchase the building as long as it did so before 2022.

The University has been in talks to purchase the building since 2019, according to the Washington Business Journal.

The building currently houses the Washington Passport Agency, which handles emergency passport problems. The University has yet to announce plans for the site.