In late 2013, Georgetown University will relocate its School of Continuing Studies to 650 Massachusetts Avenue, where it recently signed a lease to occupy 91,000 square feet (SF), and bring more than 1,000 students into Downtown DC. The School will occupy space on the first and second floors as well as two lower levels of the 317,000 SF building, which is catty-cornered to historic Mount Vernon Square.
“This expansion of Georgetown Downtown is a defining moment for the university,” says Georgetown President John DeGioia. “Just as the construction of our Law Center did 30 years ago, this new home provides us with an opportunity to extend the impact of the university into new parts of the city and to broaden the reach of our work. We are excited to be aligning our interests with this vibrant and growing city.”
The law school has been in Downtown since its inception in 1870 to be near the courts but relocated numerous times before settling in at its existing campus in 1971. The Georgetown University Law Center (600 New Jersey Avenue) was a development pioneer in the East End, moving to an area with no hotels and few residences, restaurants and retailers.
Georgetown said it carefully selected its new location to be accessible to students and professionals and to be able to offer comprehensive transportation options. The 650 Massachusetts Avenue building, owned by Brookfield Office Properties, Inc., is two blocks from the Gallery Place Metrorail station and contains a four-level parking garage. The leasing deal with Georgetown means the eight-story building is now 97% leased, versus 72% when first purchased by Brookfield for $113 million in 2010. Blackboard Inc., the educational software company, is also located in the building.
The School is working with Studios Architecture to design state-of-the-art space that “re-imagines the educational experience for the 21st century.” The facilities will include classrooms with integrated technology, administrative offices, group study rooms, workstations, lounge and meeting spaces, a contemplative space, a media lab, a library resource center, a café, and more. The offices and classrooms will wrap around a four-story atrium.
Other educators have made their way into Downtown DC recently. Two years ago, the Chicago School of Professional Psychology opened a campus at 901 15th Street. New York University plans to open its first U.S. site outside of New York at 1307 L Street this year after breaking ground on a multipurpose center in September 2010. Strayer University (1133 15th Street), a for-profit school, is also located in Downtown. Finally, the Arizona-originated and highly acclaimed charter school, BASIS School, Inc., is opening BASIS DC (410 8th Street) this month in the historic, 38,000 SF Stables Building.
Georgetown currently holds its School of Continuing Studies classes at two sites—the university’s main campus in Georgetown and in Arlington, Virginia. The move to Massachusetts Avenue is expected to add to the area’s vitality and growth, particularly with students attending night classes. Current and future growth in the area includes:
- The recent ground breaking for the Association of American Medical Colleges’ new headquarters building at the corner of New York Avenue/7th Street/K Street, with 290,000 SF and 700 employees
- The expected demolition of the National Public Radio (NPR) building in the 600 block of the north side of Massachusetts Avenue, and Boston Properties’ construction of a new, 478,000 SF office building with first floor retail space
- The completion of the new, 1,175-room Marriott Marquis Convention Center Headquarters Hotel at the northwest corner of 9th Street and Massachusetts Avenue by Marriot/Quadrangle Development/Capstone Development in 2014
- The possible location of a new headquarters for LivingSocial (1445 New York Avenue) at the northeast corner of 7th Street and New York Avenue, to be developed by Douglas Development (702 H Street), and up to 900 new apartments in four new apartment buildings to be completed by the Wilkes Company and Quadrangle Development, Kettler, Donohoe Companies and Equity Residential in 2014 and 2015.