TTR Sotheby’s International Realty announced that it will serve as the exclusive listing agent for the former Corcoran College’s Fillmore building, which the George Washington University plans to sell this upcoming year. GW took control of the property as part of the historic agreements with the National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran last summer.
TTR Sotheby’s International Realty was selected through a competitive bidding process to market the property, located at 1801 35th St. NW.
The Fillmore building consists of a historic schoolhouse and more than one acre of land in Georgetown. It was built in 1893 and sold to the Corcoran College as design space in 1998. The building will be listed at $14 million, and reviews of purchase offers are expected start in April.
In a press release, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty said it believes the property’s size, 54,292 square feet, will attract a range of prospective purchasers, including private institutions and independent and charter schools, as well as the regional and international investment communities.
“We are honored to have been selected to represent the seller in this landmark opportunity. We look forward to leveraging the significant reach and resources of Sotheby’s International Realty worldwide to ensure a successful outcome for our client,” said Mark Lowham, managing partner of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.
As part of the finalized agreements GW signed in August, the university received a total of $43 million in funds. Of that sum, $35 million were allocated for renovating classroom and studio spaces in the Corcoran’s 17th Street building. The remaining $8 million came in restricted endowment funds to be used for operating the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. The agreements also transferred the Fillmore building to GW, stipulating that proceeds from any sale of the property be used for renovations and operations of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. Total costs to renovate the 17th Street building are estimated at about $80 million.
Classes will continue in the Fillmore building until the end of the spring semester, after which these activities will be moved to the 17th Street building and other locations as needed on GW’s campuses.
The university is planning initial stages of what will be a multi-year, phased renovation of the 17th Street building. It has been assessing needed repairs and improvements, including ADA accessibility; completing urgent updates, like fixing the building’s roof; and developing plans to update and create academic spaces. Once GW completes necessary work, including updating heating, cooling and electrical systems, the National Gallery of Art will start its own preparation of the building’s gallery spaces for future exhibitions.
On Feb. 26, the D.C. Historic Preservation Board will hold a hearing to consider an application from Save the Corcoran and the D.C. Preservation League that would designate large portions of the 17th Street building as historic. GW has said it supports maintaining the building’s history and will submit its approach to preserving key historical elements of the building to the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board.
“The university is committed to preserving the historic character of the building while updating spaces to meet the academic needs of the Corcoran School,” said Senior Associate Vice President of Operations Alicia Knight.
The Corcoran School has continued to hold classes and programming in the 17th Street building. Currently, students are preparing for the annual NEXT exhibitions, in which graduating students present their thesis work to the community.