Facing limited available space on campus and a pricy real estate market outside its gates, Georgetown is preparing for expansion and renovation as it starts to formulate its 2010-2020 campus plan.

Administrators have begun to develop the 2010-2020 campus plan, which aims to, among other things, address transportation and parking issues and consider expansion of Lauinger Library, renovation of the Leavey Center, expansion of McDonough Gymnasium and possible changes to Yates Field House.

University architect Alan Brangman said in a faculty senate meeting last month that other possible additions to the campus plan include renovation of Reiss Science Building following completion of the new science building and the transformation of Riverside Lounge into New South to a student union.

According to Brangman, the university is planning to make the campus greener, as future buildings will attain silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification and eventually move towards the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest distinction in environmental sustainability, gold certification.

Brangman added that floors can be added above the bookstore and the Basic Science Building on the Medical Center campus. According to Mark Jacobs, associate university librarian, the library is also looking toward an expansion.

“The [new 10-year] plan will articulate the best use of existing space, as well as a projection for a future addition,” he said.

Neighborhood residents discussed another two proposals with university administrators at a local meeting on Saturday – housing plans for the 3600 block between Prospect and N Street and expansion plans for the McDonough Arena.

Brangman said that the university wants to hear the concerns of the Georgetown community and work closely with the residents to form this new plan.

“We want the community to understand that planning is always a collaborative effort,” Brangman said. “The key is to get as many voices together as you can.”

Every 10 years, every university in D.C. is required to submit a plan to the Office of Planning that details the university’s goals for direction and growth over the next 10 years. Georgetown’s current 10-year plan ends on Dec. 31, 2010, according to Charles DeSantis, the campus plan manager and associate vice president for benefits and chief benefits officer.

University officials have begun to reach out to the community much earlier than they did for the 2000-2010 plan development.

“Our intent is to begin to develop our plan based on many of the things we’ve heard here,” Brangman said. “But we also need to have many more conversations internally on campus and make sure that we developing the correct program.”

The neighborhood meeting was hosted by Brangman and held at the Duke Ellington School of Arts. Linda Greenan, the assistant vice president of external relations and DeSantis also attended the meeting.

Brangman said that for the 2010-2020 campus plan, the university has decided to come to the community with loosely-formed ideas, rather than concrete plans.

“In 1998, we did a little bit more upfront planning internally because we had more things identified for what we wanted to do,” he said.

During the discussion part of the meeting, many Georgetown residents expressed concerns over possible increases in noise level and the community’s general quality of life if more university housing were built off-campus.

Karen Cruse, a Georgetown resident who was a member of a group that petitioned for a student code of conduct addendum to Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said that she has some concerns about more students in her neighborhood.

“Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I know, without fail that I am going to be awake between 1 [a.m.]. and 4 [a.m.],” she said. “Somebody has to do something; it is up to the university to come up with creative solutions.”

Residents also discussed the lack of on-campus housing for undergraduates. Some suggested that the university should limit enrollment until they have the housing to accommodate the growing number of undergraduates. Many noted the advantage of on-campus housing, which they said brings a greater degree of university oversight.

The majority of the residents at the meeting generally agreed that the university needs to be more proactive when dealing with off-campus incidents – especially with houses that have been continuously cited for poor conduct.

“I think the university could go around to different houses they know and watch to see what is going on,” Cruse said. “In some way, the university should get the word out to the students that they cannot [commit noise violations].”

At the end of the meeting, Brangman stressed that the direction of the 2010-2020 plan would be very different from that of the current plan, which included designs for the new MSB building, the new science building and the Davis Performing Arts Center.

DeSantis said that the process of creating the campus plan started earlier this year with the creation of a steering committee. The university has hired an architectural and urban design firm, Cooper, Robertson and Partners, to help craft the plan. The firm has previously helped to create campus plans for various institutions, including Harvard and Yale.

DeSantis noted that the process of completing the campus plan remains in its preliminary stages. A final draft will not be completed until May or June 2009, at which point it will go to the city for approval.

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