GW plans to restore public access to the dining in District House for the first time since 2022, officials told commissioners at a Foggy Bottom and West End Neighborhood Advisory Commission meeting.
The ANC voted Wednesday to support GW’s case before the D.C. Zoning Commission where University officials agreed to reopen dining establishments in District House to provide retail benefits closer to Foggy Bottom in exchange for the lost retail space at 2001 Pennsylvania Ave, a property officials purchased in 2024 and now houses the Office of the Board of Trustees and the Title IX office. GW submitted an application to the Zoning Commission in September for a planned unit development modification — a process that gives site developers greater flexibility with rules regarding building occupancy and use —at 2001 Pennsylvania Ave, and in a recent filing said officials agreed to use the eastern block of the ground floor of the property for University purposes while allowing retailers to continue to operate in the western portion.
2A08 Commissioner Jim Malec, whose single-member district includes both District House and the 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. property, said he worked with GW to come to the agreement that District House would reopen access to the public. District House was last open to public access in 2022, when the D.C. Zoning Commission granted the University’s zoning modification request to limit access to students and convert the space to a “residential dining model.”
“This compromise is a good one for all parties,” Malec said. “It protects the 2001 Penn retail space that’s currently in use. It restores a public benefit that should not have been eliminated in the first place, and it sets an expectation that the reduction or the elimination of community benefits should be balanced by the introduction of other equally valuable benefits.”
Here are some highlights from the meeting:
ANC endorses GW’s plans for 2001 Pennsylvania Ave.
GW Executive Director of Government and Community Relations Kevin Days presented to ANC commissioners about the University’s request for a planned unit development modification for 2001 Penn, where the University announced plans to relocate administrative offices to earlier this year.
The Zoning Commission will hold a hearing June 8 for community members to provide input on the University’s request for the changes before officials can begin their planned work on the building.
Lee Templin, an associate at law-firm Goulston & Storrs, presented alongside Days to update ANC members on changes the University had made to their planned unit development modification based on feedback they have received from community members over the last several months.
Templin at the meeting said the University plans to reopen the dining space located within the basement of District House for public access during “daytime” hours on weekdays and said the University will install signage that indicates what times District House is open to the public.
Days said the public will have access to the dining facilities on B1 level of District House, which includes dining options like True Burger, Baba’s Pizza, D.C. Taco House, Halal Shack and the District House Grab-and-Go Market, as well as Peet’s Coffee — which officials confirmed last week will remain open after a University spokesperson said in April the coffee shop would close by the end of May.
Templin said the University will still reserve the space for students on nights and weekends, but will otherwise open the space to the general public.
The reopening comes to offset the lost retail space on the currently vacant eastern side of 2001 Pennsylvania Ave., which Templin said officials intend to utilize for “student-facing” uses. Days said officials have not determined specifically what “student-facing” uses will entail, but said it could include relocating the career services office or the admissions office to the space.
Templin and David Avitable, the director of Goulston & Storrs, submitted a pre-hearing letter to the Zoning Commission May 8 stating the University originally planned to utilize the entire ground floor of 2001 Penn for University purposes, but after hearing community concerns, including from the ANC and West End Citizens’ Association, about the lost retail space, decided to commit to retaining the western bay, which is currently occupied by For Five Coffee Roasters, for retail use. The statement says the University is “seeking flexibility” on using the eastern bay for University use.
“Rather than leaving the space as vacant and waiting for economic conditions to turn around, the University proposes to fill the space with an active student-facing use that will draw university activity north across Pennsylvania Avenue into the downtown business district, consistent with the District’s downtown action plan,” the statement reads.
Days said at a Campus Plan Advisory Committee meeting in April officials would be working with members of the ANC and the community to propose a “compromise” regarding the development of 2001 Pennsylvania Ave after the Arts Club of Washington, which is located immediately next to the property, filed a letter of opposition late last year in response to GW’s plans to relocate administrative offices to the building.
The Arts Club of Washington withdrew their letter of opposition May 20, saying the University had worked with them in “good faith” and responded to their concerns.
Commissioners pass traffic safety resolution for two neighborhood intersections
The ANC unanimously passed a resolution from 2A06 Commissioner and ANC Vice Chairperson John Dolan calling on the District Department of Transportation to improve traffic safety at the intersections of L and 23rd streets — where a crash last month resulted in the fatality of 61-year-old Dawn Ciccone — as well as at L and 22nd streets, an intersection commissioners said was dangerous for pedestrians.
The resolution calls on DDOT to conduct an “expedited” traffic study at both intersections to determine how to improve traffic safety. The resolution also calls for the Department to report its findings from the study back to ANC 2A.
Malec spoke in support of the resolution and said it was essential for ANC constituents to know that the body was taking action to help prevent future accidents in the vicinity of where last month’s crash occurred.
“It’s important for our constituents to be able to look at this and understand that this has more visibility to them, to the average constituent,” Malec said. “I want them to know that we are doing this, and that this language is here, and they can see this on our website that we took this action, because this issue it’s really shaken up our community.”
During the meeting, ANC Commissioners pressed Metropolitan Police Department Second District Commander Christopher Dorsey for an update on whether MPD had any suspects or was able to make an arrest from the hit-and-run last month. Dorsey said the department was making “good progress” with the case and said he hopes MPD will be able to provide an update to the ANC when they make an arrest.
2A04 Commissioner Ed Comer asked Dorsey about MPD’s policy for the enforcement of traffic laws and questioned whether the department was sufficiently cracking down on traffic violations within the Foggy Bottom and West End neighborhoods.
“Where the accident took place is a block from Washington Circle, and as I walk around Washington Circle, just yesterday I saw four cars going through red lights,” Comer said. “I consistently see cars and motorcycles going through red lights downtown, and sometimes there are Metropolitan Police cars nearby. They don’t do anything.”
Dorsey said he encourages ANC commissioners who repeatedly see or hear from constituents about drivers breaking traffic laws to let him or someone from the Department know.
Commissioners adopt resolution requesting funding for Better Bus Network design
The ANC unanimously passed a resolution encouraging the Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority to allocate money toward improving its “Better Bus Network” design, a project launched in 2025 that overhauled WMATA’s former bus system and introduced a slew of changes and terminations to routes, including several in Foggy Bottom.
The resolution requests that WMATA fund improvements to the bus system across the District, specifically highlighting the D2X, D70, D74, D32 and the D36 — all routes that run through the 2A commission of Ward 2. The resolution also calls for increased overnight routes to be added on the D70, D74 and the D32 routes, all of which run through Foggy Bottom.
2A03 Commissioner and ANC Chair Trupti Patel said the wait times for various bus routes could still be improved despite the changes from the overhaul, especially during non-peak periods.
“A lot of the bus services need to be improved in its time management because currently a lot of buses, you may have to wait 20 minutes or 30 minutes even at peak time,” Patel said.
