Students living on E and F streets may wake up to the sound of jackhammers, as HITT Contracting began tearing down a parking structure at 515 20th St. last week.
University officials said in September they were working with the developer of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel – which will be built on the location – to keep the company mindful of the effect construction has on students and the community. But construction hours will begin at 7 a.m. – the earliest starting hour District law allows.
“All I have to say is I am not a fan of jackhammer at seven in the morning,” Chris Blauner, a freshman Thurston Hall resident, said.
The District issued Allstate Hotel LLC – the company developing the Marriott hotel – a permit Sept. 24 to tear down the structure, and the construction officially began Oct. 26.
Construction can run until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Mike Tyler of MJ Tyler and Associates LLC, a spokesman for the hotel developers, said workers have to get permission if they want to work after hours.
“In areas where there are residents or students this most likely would not be permitted,” Tyler said.
He said Tuesday that construction and demolition “will start within the time periods allowed by the permits we have received. It has taken the demolition subcontractor some time to get all of the proper protection installed around the project site but they should be done now.”
Though the project is near multiple GW buildings – including the Elliott School of International Affairs, Old Main and Mitchell Hall – University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said the project isn’t associated with the University, and GW cannot decide what the work hours will be.
Sherrard said in order to manage the impact of the project on the community, “the University has been in touch with the project’s representatives to gather information on construction-related issues. We will provide this information, as it is available, to members of the University community.”
The construction is planned to last through the spring of 2012.
The hotel will have more than 150 guest suites, and Allstate Hotel LLC said it hopes to finish the hotel in April 2012.
