Updated: May 8, 2014 at 1 p.m.
The D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to close an alley in the middle of GW’s planned multi-million dollar renovation project at 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., removing GW’s last major obstacle before breaking ground.
The public alleyway between Pennsylvania Avenue and I Street has a property value of about $520,000, and will shut down once construction starts by the end of the year. In March, Foggy Bottom leaders lobbied the Council to force GW to compensate the neighborhood for the closure.
The project will demolish an office, two University buildings and four restaurants on Pennsylvania Avenue, making way for a glassy 11-story office building with ground-floor retail.
University spokesman Kurtis Hiatt said the University will construct another alley just west of the original’s location. It will be the same size.
Since the D.C. Zoning Commission approved the plans last year, the decision over closing the alleyway was GW’s last major roadblock before construction could start. During the zoning process, the University agreed to $4 million in local amenities to appease neighbors.
Earlier this year, a member of the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission also fought against the closure of an alleyway at the center of construction for the new residence hall District House. Jackson Carnes, a senior at GW, accused D.C. Council member Jack Evans of giving the land to the University in exchange for support of his mayoral campaign. An investigation did not find any evidence to support the allegations.
