GW’s plans to construct an office building on a block of Pennsylvania Avenue called Square 75A were met with some opposition Thursday at a D.C. Zoning Commission hearing.

The West End Citizens Association and the Foggy Bottom Association arguments against the construction of the new complex, while GW tried to appease concerns by offering a $100,000 for a real-time Metro transit information board and $100,000 in office space for community organizations.

West End Citizens Association Secretary Barbara Kahlow said the package was not enough, comparing the project to the expansion at the Renaissance Hotel on New Hampshire Avenue, which gave over $400,000 in community perks, Kahlow said.

Junior Patrick Kennedy spoke on behalf of the Foggy Bottom Association – of which he is a director – calling the amenities insufficient. He said the proposed retail space could include banks, drug stores, or chain restaurants – establishments Kennedy found detracting for the neighborhood’s uniqueness.

Senior Associate Vice President for Operations Alicia Knight responded saying that the amenities provided by GW also included seven units of affordable townhouses costing $4 million that would be placed on F Street across from South Hall.

“GW wants to make this work, we really do,” Knight said.

The proposed office buildings and retail complex hit a roadblock last month when leasers at the President Condominium protested GW’s plan to move an alleyway next to Rice Hall. The University and the condo complex announced at the meeting that they reached an agreement to widen the alleyway instead of move it. The President Condominium withdrew their opposition to the project from the zoning board.

The zoning board will meet again with all parties January 14, 2013 at which a decision will be announced as to whether the university can start work on the complex.