Campus Plan FAQ

What is the Mount Vernon Campus Plan?

Campus plans are required by the District of Columbia Zoning Regulations for universities located in residentially-zoned areas throughout the District. These plans address the impacts associated with the university’s potential growth, including facilities development, on-campus housing, neighborhood quality of life matters, and transportation and parking. You can read more about the DC Zoning Regulations for campus plans on the DC Office of Zoning website.

The George Washington University’s (GW) 2010 Mount Vernon Campus (MVC) plan was scheduled to expire in December 2020, and, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, D.C. has extended the plan to June 2021. GW will request an additional six-month extension from the D.C. Zoning Commission, moving the new expiration date to December 31, 2021.

When does GW plan to engage the Mount Vernon Campus neighboring community in the planning process?

GW has provided updates to the community on plans for the Mount Vernon campus, including an initial briefing on our Strategic Campus and Facilities Master Plan, in Summer 2020.  As the university and the nation focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the campus planning process was paused for much of 2020. In February 2021, the university officially kicked off the community engagement portion for the campus planning process. The first meeting was held February 25. 

What is GW’s Strategic Campus and Facilities Master Plan?

In 2019, GW began its first-ever Strategic Campus and Facilities Master Plan driven by a belief that GW’s spaces are essential elements of a community-oriented culture. The Master Plan articulates the vision and guiding principles for GW’s physical development, and establishes standards for a unified campus identity that creates a sense of place and belonging on GW campuses. This process aligns GW’s physical design with the university’s values and the broader strategic planning effort.  The Master Plan will inform the upcoming campus planning process.

Is GW’s community partnership model similar to American University and Georgetown?

GW is committed to a collaborative campus planning process that includes robust community engagement with our surrounding community.  We believe that a community partnership model will provide opportunities for the university to connect with interested community members and seek support and feedback on the new campus plan for Mount Vernon Campus. 

This partnership model initially established 4  Advisory Working Groups with the goal of collaboration between the GW and Mount Vernon neighbors in a structured environment that promotes focused conversations on campus planning efforts. After a month into the Community Partnerships and feedback from the community, The university reduced the number of working groups from four to two. They are: 

• Facilities & Transportation 
• Safety & Community Life

The working groups will serve as advisory committees during the campus planning process. Topics in these groups will include evaluating existing planning and programming, sharing information with interested community members about future plans for the MVC campus operations, addressing neighborhood concerns and issues, and identifying potential solutions to these issues. The university will seek to reach consensus on any issues within the context of these groups rather than resolve them in the zoning process. While the goal is a plan that reflects consensus on as many issues as possible, the university reserves the right to submit a plan that represents the university’s planning and programmatic needs. Nevertheless, the university’s sincere hope is that the Advisory Working Groups will be able to find mutually-agreeable solutions to potential areas of conflict, resulting in a consensus plan that balances university priorities and community interests. Each Advisory Working Group will be chaired by and consist of community and university representatives and meet monthly to discuss issues. At Mount Vernon Quarterly Meetings, co-chairs of the Advisory Working Groups will present updates to the community. 

How will residents be kept informed on the progress on the development of GW’s Mount Vernon Campus Plan?

GW’s Mount Vernon Campus website includes information on the Advisory Working Groups, meeting schedules, summaries, and many other useful resources. Interested community members may also subscribe to the Mount Vernon Neighbors Newsletter. The MVC newsletter highlights ongoing news and information about the university and will include campus planning developments as our work continues. 

If not already subscribed to the newsletter, please register.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Government and Community Relations.