Urban Investment Partners of Washington, DC. has bought a former student housing building from George Washington University in a $36 million deal. GWU demolished the property’s interior about a year ago, planning to create a new student and faculty housing complex, but decided to sell the property instead. UIP plans to build 200 rental apartments within the existing 97,300 sqf core and shell, and add an additional 50 units in a new 40,000 sqf addition to the building’s east side. UIP also plans to build 8,000 -10,000 sqf of restaurant/coffee shop space on the first floor of the building which offers underground parking spaces, bike storage and locker facilities.
The project, which will be renamed the Boathouse, achieved notoriety while operating as a Howard Johnson hotel in 1972. Rooms 419 and 723 were used as lookouts for the “Watergate burglars,” who broke into offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office building. The ensuing scandal led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon. Room 723 was preserved as a museum until 2001, when the exhibit was moved to the GWU archives.
“We are going to create something never seen before in this city, focusing on access to the park and the river, promoting a healthful lifestyle that includes fitness, exercise, and fresh food,” said UIP Principal Steve Schwat. “This is going to be an exciting place to live, equidistant from the Georgetown waterfront and the Foggy Bottom Metro stop, which is just a five-minute walk away.”
