We haven’t written much about the development of the site of the old George Washington University Hospital since last January when we reported the University had announced they would conduct not one but two studies about what to do with the land. The situation is this: GWU could make quite a bit developing the site as commercial retail, office, and housing. Neighborhood residents resent the university’s relentless growth and see the massive plot of land as potential space for academic buildings and dorms instead.

They’ll be disappointed to learn the results of an Urban Land Institute study that concluded in May the space should be utilized for private development, according to the West End Guide. The D.C. Planning office suggested to GWU that they commission the independent study, which suggests the University work with a private developer to construct three buildings containing a total of 759,000 square feet, including 10 stories of “Class A” office space, two market rate apartment buildings, and 100,000 square feet of “neighborhood serving” retail like a supermarket. You can see a PDF of their presentation where we got this image laying out their suggestions here. (PDF) Interestingly, the university had already selected an architect and developer for the site, so it’s unclear what role the ULI study has of influencing what they had already decided.

The university has created a webpage to engage the community as the architect comes up with a design and have posted information for three public meetings this summer – one tomorrow, and two in July – for local residents who want to throw in their $.02.