Big GDS news

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous

The developer partners are part of the GDS board who have orchestrated this development. So basically, GDS is turning to the GWU model

From GDS' perspective, they no doubt would prefer to be compared to Harvard in Allston than to GW in Foggy Bottom!

+1. There is a strong Harvard affinity.

[Anonymous]

I looked at the touted gds board, looks like a bunch of nebbish white guys with one black woman. What happened to the diversity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the touted gds board, looks like a bunch of nebbish white guys with one black woman. What happened to the diversity?

The bios show an accomplished, diverse and interesting board.

[Anonymous]

I've never seen a project with more warning flags.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But that is the prime developable area, so there is no reason to reserve that for academic use.

I get that, but then cramming everyone on to one lot that GDS is enlarging modestly casts doubt on whether this whole project is worth the touted benefits of a combined campus.

You are preaching to the choir. If they aren't proposing to take 42nd Street, which they shouldn't, then this becomes a land grab for some select Board Members. Maybe if they kept the LS campus and moved the MS to Wisc Ave, it would make programming sense, but not financial sense.

[Anonymous]

So who brought this idea to GDS? Did a boaed member who has self-interest take it to the board? Or did GDS organically see a need to transform the campus and went to a developer?

[Anonymous]

GDS----puts the G in GREEDY!

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]GDS----puts the G in GREEDY![/quote]

Greedy Developers' School?

[Anonymous]

Everyone should just relax. The new, expanded campus will be fantastic and transformative for GDS. Thanks to the School's vision, there will be more retail and vibrancy in the community. And being the sole home to one of the top independent schools in the region, if not the country, will lend some cachet to sleepy old Tenleytown (aka "Matresstown").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone should just relax. The new, expanded campus will be fantastic and transformative for GDS. Thanks to the School's vision, there will be more retail and vibrancy in the community. And being the sole home to one of the top independent schools in the region, if not the country, will lend some cachet to sleepy old Tenleytown (aka "Matresstown").

The project has little benefit for the community. There will be more traffic during morning rush hour, more traffic in the afternoons, more traffic through the neighborhood. The project is not designed to benefit the community and it is arguable that it doesn't necessarily need to. But let's not pretend that the neighborhood will reap significant benefit.

[Anonymous]

Private schools really don't benefit the community. If GDS wants to build an outdoor pool that would be open to the public during the summer, then sure.

[Anonymous]

I still don't even get why they are moving. And is it possible they will leave the lower school on Mcthr blvd? The plans make it look like everyone will be on top of each other. STA, NCS, Beavoir and the Cathedral share 50 acres. Sidwell has 15 just for the middle and upper, plus another five or six for the lower school in Bethesda. Gds will be on about 7 with 1100 students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone should just relax. The new, expanded campus will be fantastic and transformative for GDS. Thanks to the School's vision, there will be more retail and vibrancy in the community. And being the sole home to one of the top independent schools in the region, if not the country, will lend some cachet to sleepy old Tenleytown (aka "Matresstown").

Insufferable attitude. You really aren't doing the school any favors with posts like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still don't even get why they are moving. And is it possible they will leave the lower school on Mcthr blvd? The plans make it look like everyone will be on top of each other. STA, NCS, Beavoir and the Cathedral share 50 acres. Sidwell has 15 just for the middle and upper, plus another five or six for the lower school in Bethesda. Gds will be on about 7 with 1100 students

It's a unique opportunity to develop dense mixed-use on Wisconsin and also to monetize the Palisades site, which is very desirable to developers who want to build high end town homes or SFHs. All this will grow the GDS endowment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still don't even get why they are moving. And is it possible they will leave the lower school on Mcthr blvd? The plans make it look like everyone will be on top of each other. STA, NCS, Beavoir and the Cathedral share 50 acres. Sidwell has 15 just for the middle and upper, plus another five or six for the lower school in Bethesda. Gds will be on about 7 with 1100 students

GDS' focus and history has always been to be an urban school in DC. The upper school Is an open campus so that student's are more engaged with the city. So this sort of campus configuration feels right.