Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Modified ATF Plans Advance

Revised plans for the new Athletic Training Facility were approved by the Old Georgetown Board last week and will now go before the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts for final approval.

“This is the third time that Georgetown has brought in a different scheme,” Secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts Thomas Luebke said. “[The earlier version] was very real-estate intensive and did not have the best relationship to campus.”

Initial designs for the building, which is slated to be built adjacent to McDonough Arena, were approved by the D.C. Zoning Commission as a part of the 2000 Campus Plan process. The designs also received the approval of the Old Georgetown Board, a branch of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, in 2006, but the project was put on hold during the 2008 economic downturn.

Because the prior date set for construction had passed, plans were required to be resubmitted for approval when the university made the facility a priority again last year.

At a hearing in October, OGB members criticized plans for the ATF because the proposed facility slightly obstructed the entrance to McDonough Arena. Blueprints for the two-story, 125,000-square-foot building were modified to address those concerns.

At a meeting of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E earlier this month, members unanimously voted to not object to the modified designs, though they expressed several concerns about its lack of space for student housing. Proposed construction projects such as the ATF are reviewed by the ANC before going to the Old Georgetown Board for a vote.

The current plans include an entrance corridor connecting the ATF to McDonough Arena through a rotunda, forming what Luebke hopes will be a Hall-of-Fame-like hallway.

The ground floor of the structure will provide practice space, office suites and locker rooms for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, while the lower level will include a weight room, training room, equipment room, team meeting space and additional locker rooms for other student athletes.

The facility now faces review by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. If the commission approves the plans, however, there are still considerable steps to be taken before construction can begin. According to Luebke, minor concerns about the design remain.

“We’re not raising yellow flags. [The design] just wasn’t developed,” Luebke said.

If the ATF plans earn full approval from the commission, the university must still fundraise for the building’s construction and draft detailed blueprints.

Funds for the building, which is expected to cost about $55 million, will be raised entirely through donations. According to the university, the money will be drawn from the $125 million allocated to intercollegiate athletics in the current capital campaign.

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