Posted Monday, May 30, 11:44 p.m. When George Washington bequeathed his 50 shares of the Potomac Company toward the creation of a D.C. university, he did not foresee an institution that would one day be the largest private landowner in the nation's capital.
With three campuses and a number of real-estate holdings outside the Foggy Bottom area, GW has become the premier property holder in D.C., second only to the federal government. But in one of the hottest real estate markets around, the University's growing realty investments are not always for an academic purpose.
Ownership of buildings such as the 2000 Penn mall and office complex, One Washington Circle and the vast tract of land under an F Street International Monetary Fund building are part of GW's off-campus real-estate investments, which were valued at $270 million in 2002. With additional holdings in Columbia Plaza, the George Washington University Inn, a parking lot at 10th and K streets and several buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue, the University generates a significant source of income from its commercial real-estate investments.
According to its 2003-2004 financial report, GW earned more than $43 million in revenue from off-campus properties last year. In 2003, GW took home $31 million from these investments.
While most off-campus facilities are not used for education, the University's non-profit status exempts it from paying an income tax on revenues generated in some buildings, said Louis Katz, executive vice president and treasurer. For-profit investors would ordinarily have to pay the tax.
"(The revenue) comes in terms of rental purposes," Katz said, adding that GW's commercial income is used to "help operate the University." He noted that the University still has to pay real-estate taxes.
Since the 1970s the University has actively expanded its land assets to accommodate its growing student population. In 1999 GW purchased Mount Vernon College as a satellite campus and acquired its 23 acres of land in Northwest D.C. The University also has a third campus in Loudoun, Va., that sits on 90 acres.
With three campuses and a number of real-estate holdings outside the Foggy Bottom area, GW has become the premier property holder in D.C., second only to the federal government. But in one of the hottest real estate markets around, the University's growing realty investments are not always for an academic purpose.
Ownership of buildings such as the 2000 Penn mall and office complex, One Washington Circle and the vast tract of land under an F Street International Monetary Fund building are part of GW's off-campus real-estate investments, which were valued at $270 million in 2002. With additional holdings in Columbia Plaza, the George Washington University Inn, a parking lot at 10th and K streets and several buildings along Pennsylvania Avenue, the University generates a significant source of income from its commercial real-estate investments.
According to its 2003-2004 financial report, GW earned more than $43 million in revenue from off-campus properties last year. In 2003, GW took home $31 million from these investments.
While most off-campus facilities are not used for education, the University's non-profit status exempts it from paying an income tax on revenues generated in some buildings, said Louis Katz, executive vice president and treasurer. For-profit investors would ordinarily have to pay the tax.
"(The revenue) comes in terms of rental purposes," Katz said, adding that GW's commercial income is used to "help operate the University." He noted that the University still has to pay real-estate taxes.
Since the 1970s the University has actively expanded its land assets to accommodate its growing student population. In 1999 GW purchased Mount Vernon College as a satellite campus and acquired its 23 acres of land in Northwest D.C. The University also has a third campus in Loudoun, Va., that sits on 90 acres.
