The University will need to make more use of its former hospital site and off-campus locations in order to accommodate its planned development projects over the next decade, officials said Friday.
Louis Katz, executive vice president and treasurer, told the Faculty Senate Friday that the University will need an additional two million square feet of developable space over the next 10 years to accommodate academic and administrative facilities and more student housing. Only 800,000 square feet of developable land remains on campus, including at the old hospital location.
"We have two scarce resources right now, money and space," Katz said. "Both are very important. If we don't get both, we're going to have some tough decisions."
Katz identified about 14 locations for potential growth on Foggy Bottom that are either owned or leased by GW. Specifically, he mentioned putting more beds in Guthridge Hall and the West End and additional classrooms in Tompkins Hall. But he said the school would be kept from making full use of the identified sites because of city density codes.
Since GW does not have permission from the city to undergo more construction, the University will have to employ "alternative strategies" to accommodate its projected growth, including moving more University functions to facilities outside the main campus, Katz said.
"For all intensive purposes, we could not meet the University's growth requirements without exceeding that density capacity," Katz said. "We're building for the future, if we don't get relief for these things, we really need to look at what we're moving off-campus to continue our growth."
The school already plans to renovate Quigley's, the Hall of Government and Madison Hall and build an additional residence hall on Mount Vernon (see "Quigleys, two academic buildings to get renovations," p. 1). It is also transferring some administrative offices to its campus in Ashburn, Va.
In addition, Katz said the University may opt to reserve a greater piece of the former GW Hospital site - which accounts for about half of the developable land on Foggy Bottom - for academic purposes. The school has long-maintained that it plans to house a mix of commercial and University facilities on the now empty lot, located on I Street between 22nd and 23rd streets.
Louis Katz, executive vice president and treasurer, told the Faculty Senate Friday that the University will need an additional two million square feet of developable space over the next 10 years to accommodate academic and administrative facilities and more student housing. Only 800,000 square feet of developable land remains on campus, including at the old hospital location.
"We have two scarce resources right now, money and space," Katz said. "Both are very important. If we don't get both, we're going to have some tough decisions."
Katz identified about 14 locations for potential growth on Foggy Bottom that are either owned or leased by GW. Specifically, he mentioned putting more beds in Guthridge Hall and the West End and additional classrooms in Tompkins Hall. But he said the school would be kept from making full use of the identified sites because of city density codes.
Since GW does not have permission from the city to undergo more construction, the University will have to employ "alternative strategies" to accommodate its projected growth, including moving more University functions to facilities outside the main campus, Katz said.
"For all intensive purposes, we could not meet the University's growth requirements without exceeding that density capacity," Katz said. "We're building for the future, if we don't get relief for these things, we really need to look at what we're moving off-campus to continue our growth."
The school already plans to renovate Quigley's, the Hall of Government and Madison Hall and build an additional residence hall on Mount Vernon (see "Quigleys, two academic buildings to get renovations," p. 1). It is also transferring some administrative offices to its campus in Ashburn, Va.
In addition, Katz said the University may opt to reserve a greater piece of the former GW Hospital site - which accounts for about half of the developable land on Foggy Bottom - for academic purposes. The school has long-maintained that it plans to house a mix of commercial and University facilities on the now empty lot, located on I Street between 22nd and 23rd streets.
