This post was written by Hatchet reporter Rachael Gerendasy. 

The D.C. Zoning Commission unanimously approved GW’s proposal to construct an office building along Pennsylvania Avenue Monday.

The Square 75A construction project, set to break ground in 2014, includes plans to demolish an office, two University buildings as well as Froggy Bottom Pub, Thai Place, Panda Café and Mehran Restaurant. In their place, the University will build a glassy 11-story structure that will house retail on its ground floor facing Pennsylvania Avenue.

The University has put forward a $4.1 million benefits package in community perks to appease neighbors and local groups, who have continued to express concerns about ground-level retail that will dampen the street’s nightlife.

Commissioner Robert Miller encouraged GW to select types of retail that would stay open later in the day, like the coffee shop and yoga studio that designers featured in a rendering of the building last fall.